Kimagure Orange Road Forever
by Manjoume
Summary: Between the events of 1991 and 1994 as shown in Shin KOR, Kyosuke and Madoka learn to live their lives together.
1. Every New Beginning Comes From Some

I would like to start out by saying that any resemblance to   
Steve Tsai's Kimagure Orange College is purely coincidental.   
This is so because I just found out about its existence an hour   
after this idea was conceived, when I went in search of KOR fan   
fiction. I had not read it, fearing it would influence me   
unduly. I will not be accused of plagiarism. However, upon   
actually getting around to reading it, I didn't like it. So, I   
guess I have nothing to worry about then.  
  
I pretty much just saw the entire series, and I am not ready for   
it to end. Even the movies, though a fitting end, were not even   
enough to satiate me. And so, I will continue it. I hope you   
enjoy.  
  
Ok, you know the drill, Kasuga-kun and pals do not belong to me.   
They are property of Matsumoto-san, TOHO, Studio Peirrot,   
AnimEigo, ADV, and anyone else I happened to have left out.  
  
Thanks to: Matsumoto Izumi for creating a world I delight in.  
Semisonic for the chapter title and Closing Time.  
Three Doors Down for such an inspirational piece of   
music that is "Be Like That."  
  
Warning: Though this is not anywhere near lemony, there are   
parts that have a nice lime smell. Just so you know. Oh, and   
also, don't expect too much to be happening as far as a real   
plot at first. This first chapter is mainly for review   
purposes. Ok, carry on.  
  
Kimagure Orange Road Forever  
Chapter One  
"Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End"  
  
I, Kasuga Kyosuke, am the luckiest man on the face of the   
planet. The summer of 1991 was opening before me, and already I   
had had two experiences worthy of recording. The first, as I   
have no doubt already relayed, is that which required me to   
travel three years into the future after almost being killed in   
a car accident. The episode let me a take a brief look into the   
world that Madoka and I will share. Though, I am quite content   
to build upon that which has come before to lead up to that   
world I glimpsed, I constantly battle doubts. Hikaru-chan is   
doing well. Both in the future and the present. She still   
loves me, and I'm worried she will always. The paragon of   
happiness deserves someone to whom she can devote herself to.   
Memories of me will probably stand in her way...  
  
What was the other experience I had? Ahem, well, that   
is... Madoka and I... We, ah,... You know... Anyways, that's   
when I began to call her Madoka and not Ayukawa. She found the   
idea of me calling her Ayukawa in such a situation to be silly.   
My future self was vague about the experience, as if to avoid   
ruining it for me. He needn't have worried. He could have   
described the entire experience in detail, and it would have   
never compared to the real thing. And by no means will I   
describe it now. Suffice to say... it was... the best. Just   
like he told me it would be. Now, college is a new set of   
challenges. New obstacles. And yet... High School had its own   
charm. I wouldn't dream of giving those memories away, but   
now... Now it's time to make more memories. Making more   
memories with Madoka Ayukawa...  
  
Now, I was back in this place. Funny how these stairs   
have seen so much: so many memories overlaid. The day I came   
to this town, Madoka Ayukawa was here. Her red straw hat blew   
across the sky. Upon seeing it, I jumped into the air and   
caught it. Often, I've time-slipped on these stairs, causing   
interesting things to happen. I'll be the first to admit, I'm   
not fully in control of the Kasuga family Power. The   
supernatural powers my family has had for untold generations are   
hard to deal with at times. These stairs seem to be a rallying   
point for my powers and my life. It was on these stairs that I   
broke Hikaru's heart. Her cry of "ANSWER ME!" echoed off the   
concrete. It was on these stairs that our lives collided and   
none of us would ever be the same again.  
  
"Kasuga-kun!"  
  
I turned and smiled. Madoka Ayukawa, her red dress tight   
against her figure, her long dark hair moving softly in the   
breeze, her blue eyes shimmering in the golden sunlight, moved   
toward me. "Madoka," I answered, "Over here. I've been   
waiting." Her heels clicked softly as she came down the stairs.   
I moved to meet her halfway, but she waved me to stay. I   
chuckled gently to myself.  
  
Once down, she came into my arms with such ease that I   
could hardly remember a time when embracing her was not reality.   
"There are still," she said quietly, nuzzling into my shoulder,   
"still 99 steps." She brought me closer, if possible, and we   
let the world drift away. Or, we would have, had it not been   
for the two others that, I dare say, have meant so much to me.  
  
"Kasuga!" Komatsu Seiji and Hatta Kazuya walked around   
the bend of the stairs and called to me. "Ah," Komatsu said,   
"Getting so close here in public? My, my, Kasuga, you dog!"   
They parked themselves three feet or so from Madoka and me.   
Hatta, after nearly failing entrance exams, wound up going to a   
local art school. He's started work on some manga he hopes will   
bring him fame and fortune. Signed on as his manager, Komatsu   
is hoping for the same things. They still haven't grown up, I   
suppose.   
  
I pulled out of the full embrace, and instead, I let one   
arm wrap around Madoka as we turned to face the pair. Since   
that night, I was not afraid to be seen holding Madoka. No   
embarrassment would stop me from acknowledging her love or my   
love for her. "The two of you never change, you know, always   
making things sound more perverted than they are." They smiled   
at me. "So you like being a couple of sick idiots?"  
  
"Of course," Hatta said, "Say, have you seen your sisters   
around anywhere?" My sisters, Manami and Kurumi, were always   
being chased by the pair. They were self-proclaimed perverts.   
Constantly surrounding themselves with girlie magazines and   
stolen panties, Komatsu and Hatta were always hatching another   
scheme to bring them closer to various girls. The girls usually   
being my sisters.  
  
"No," I commented while shaking my head, "Ok, I see you're   
doing this on purpose. Ha Ha. Very funny." I turned to   
Madoka, "Why don't we leave these two brutes to their usual   
devices and go get a drink at the ABCB?" The ABCB was a pub and   
cafe that we had all grown up in. Madoka had been working there   
since not long after our meeting, and even I had helped out   
occasionally. The pub was in a structure that resembled a one   
story house. It had a wonderfully open window in front, stairs   
leading to the front door, and a dark green tiled roof which was   
punctuated by a large sign reading "ABCB" with the appropriate   
Japanese Hiragana under the western letters. I moved my arm   
down to grip her hand in mine. She nodded and gave my hand a   
squeeze. I squeezed back and waved over my shoulder with my   
free hand as we walked down the steps.   
  
"Master is thinking of selling the cafe," Madoka said   
suddenly as we walked along. I nodded. I knew that. When I   
had traveled to the future, I had found myself face to face with   
a pervert of an old man who had bought the store from someone   
who had bought it from Master. "He says his wife wants him do   
something that will make a little more money for the family. I   
fear I may soon be out of a job."  
  
I looked up at the sky as we walked along the street.   
"Things change, Madoka. If things were to remain the same it   
would just cause pain for all of us. You can't force the world   
to obey a set of precepts, no matter how much you want it to."   
It took us no more than ten minutes to reach the pub. I noted   
the large open window showed Master was hard at work washing   
dishes. I waved and headed up the stairs with Madoka at my   
side.   
  
The small golden bell above the door tinkled as we   
proceeded from the steps and into the restaurant. Master waved   
and pointed to the bar stools, indicating we should have a seat.   
I didn't know Master's exact age, but he was probably in his   
late thirties. He had reddish-brown curly hair that, while   
short, connected to his full beard maybe an inch or so in length   
from his large chin. Master wasn't obese, but he was definitely   
a full man. His informal nature led me to instantly like him.   
"Yo," he said, "Kasuga-kun, Madoka-kun, what can I get you?"  
  
I browsed at the menu though I couldn't remember when I   
last actually needed it. "Iced Coffee," I answered after a   
moment. It tended to be my favorite of ABCB's specialties. I   
looked over to Madoka who nodded at me. "Make that two,   
Master." He turned on two miniature coffee machines. I was   
never quite sure why he used machines that were as ancient as   
those, but it seemed to have something to do with the flavor.   
Inefficient as the process was, it made iced coffee to   
perfection. New does not always mean better.  
  
Master moved the brew to a refrigerator to cool it down.   
As he turned back to us, he grabbed a hold of a large envelope.   
Opening it, he dumped the contents onto the bar. There were   
three letters. The first was addressed to everyone. The second   
was for Madoka, and the last was for me. "I've already read   
mine," Master said soon enough. "Hikaru left very specific   
instructions. You can both read the one for everyone, but you   
are not to read each other's. I assume you can handle that."  
  
Madoka and I blinked in unison. Of course we could handle   
it, but I was worried about what Hikaru might be planning. Her   
love for me was extremely deep, and she did not give up easily.   
True, it had been two years or so since I had actually last   
communicated with her. As much as I disliked pessimism, I   
wouldn't put it past her to step back and regroup before   
attacking once more. And, if she really was planning something,   
how could I discuss it with Madoka if we were not allowed to   
discuss what our individual letters read? I pulled at the   
envelope for the one for everyone and pulled out the folded   
paper. I read it out loud slowly.  
  
  
"Dear Everyone,  
  
"I want you to all know I'm doing well in New York.  
I've been accepted to the New York Actor's Studio with a  
musical primary. My teachers are extremely nice and   
encourage me. I'm trying out for a part in a production   
of Cats! I'm not sure I'll be able to make it because my  
experience is so limited. Even so, a small part would   
make me happy. I'll have Master tell you anything else.   
^_^  
  
"Love, Hikaru-Chan"  
I set the paper down on the counter. "It's nice to see   
that Hikaru is doing well," I said, despite the lack of   
enthusiasm in my voice. Though it was nice to hear that she was   
doing well, I feared she wasn't being honest. Although usually   
honest to a fault, I can't imagine Hikaru being perfectly fine   
so long after... I suppose it was good that she moved to New   
York. A city so far away from this place would help her form   
new relationships without the constant daily reminders of that   
which she lost. Then again, maybe I was simply reading too much   
into it. The idea of Hikaru not caring for me was something   
neither my ego, nor my love for Madoka would have liked to   
consider.  
  
I pocketed my own letter as Madoka did the same and sipped   
at my coffee. "Hikaru will become a star, I'm sure. Then   
she'll forget us all," Madoka joked lightly as she reached for   
the glass of iced coffee Master had just placed in front of her.   
Her smile was echoed for only the briefest of moments in her   
eyes, but soon they turned dark and even her smile seemed to   
fade. Her chin fell into her hand as she sipped at her coffee.   
I reached over and she obligingly fell into me, resting her head   
on my shoulder. "Kyosuke..." she breathed as she looked deep   
into my eyes. She could have said she was worried about Hikaru.   
That, maybe, this wouldn't all blow over. Maybe this never   
should have happened. Maybe we were wrong. She didn't need to   
because as I gazed into her eyes, I could read it all there,   
staring back at me.  
  
I kissed her gently and stood. Master pretended to not   
have noticed a thing and was hard at work cleaning glasses I   
already knew had been washed. I pulled a couple of notes out of   
my wallet and turned to toss them onto the counter. Master   
shook his head, and I smiled nervously as the notes were   
returned to their leather holder. Master gave me a smile of his   
own and took our empty glasses to wash them. He leaned forward.   
"Kasuga-kun," he said in a low voice, "It's about time, if I may   
be so blunt." I blushed slightly and stammered out something   
incoherent, even to myself. "I recall two nervous fifteen   
year-olds working here during a break from school. Despite   
their obvious attraction to each other, they seemed to be having   
problems expressing it. Then, with Hikaru in the mix, I was   
quite worried you two would end up falling apart." His eyes   
stung in a memory having little to do with Madoka or me. I   
recalled him once telling me to chase her down, because he had   
once made the mistake of not going after the one he once loved.   
Master's help was a sort of vigil, to combat the forces to which   
he once lost.  
  
"You see yourself in me," I wondered out loud. He nodded   
at me, memory becoming less strong with each passing moment, but   
his eyes told it all. However the situation was related to   
Madoka and me, I was sure Master could do without the daily   
reminder, and yet... He seemed to thrive on the ability to   
correct his mistake vicariously through the two of us. I didn't   
mind. In fact, I was glad that Master was always there to help   
us out. Despite the number of times I still ended up making an   
idiot of myself, I'm sure the number would have been higher had   
it not been for Master's help.  
  
"Exactly." He turned to dry the glasses off with a nearby   
towel. "Don't get me wrong, Kasuga-kun," he commented suddenly,   
"I love my wife, and had that incident been changed, I might   
have likely not met her. However, one should take care to limit   
the amount of what-ifs that the heart can remind a person of."   
He walked over to the shelves and placed the glasses back with   
the others that were awaiting costumers. He turned back to me   
as Madoka stood. "You two make sure it all comes together, or   
you'll soon be paying your own bills, ok?"   
  
I just nodded and put my light windbreaker around Madoka's   
shoulders. True, it was summer, but it was only the beginning   
of the season and the breeze could still get chilly at night.   
Taking Madoka's arm in mine we headed out of the cafe and into   
the nice evening outside. Turning back the way we came, we   
headed towards the direction of the park, my apartment building,   
and Madoka's neighborhood. Silently, I could feel we were both   
heading back to her house. My arm moved up and her head fell to   
my shoulder as we continued down the block and up those stairs.   
Her eyes closed and, with my guidance, we continued on. We took   
a slow turn towards her house. Madoka shifted position and we   
walked slowly up her steps.   
  
"Kyosuke..." she said quietly as she looked up into my   
eyes. "Would you like to come in for some tea or something...?"  
  
I shook my head. "Tea... No, I just had the coffee at   
ABCB. But... I could still come in."  
  
Madoka smiled. "That's fine... I haven't got any." She   
stood turned and opened the door with her key. Quickly, before   
I could react, she got up on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly   
before rushing through the door. I blinked before running after   
her. She was already to the stairs when I closed the door   
behind me.  
  
"Hey," I called after her, "No fair! I didn't have any   
time to react." I stumbled through the walkway after her and   
gazed up to the top of the stairs.  
  
She stuck her tongue out at me playfully. "Catch me, if   
you can!" she replied and was gone upstairs. I tossed my shoes   
at the entrance and ran after her, pulling at my belt as I did   
so. When I hit the top step, she was closing her bedroom door.   
I dived at it, and did a half-step-jump thing onto the bed after   
her. I toppled onto her and kissed her passionately. "Nice   
catch," she said winking after I had pulled back. "But I wasn't   
really trying."  
  
I laughed. "No, you were easier to catch than that red   
straw hat of yours. Which, by the way," I mentioned suddenly   
after, "I still have that hanging on my wall at the apartment,   
you know?"  
  
Madoka looked at me with feral eyes. "Less talk, more...   
this," she hissed, flipping me over and kissing me. I found the   
straps on her dark red dress and pulled them down slowly,   
teasing her. One thing I found about finally losing my   
virginity, women lie more often than not about sex. Any woman   
that says she wants it less than a man is lying. They might be   
able to trick us mere males of the species for the years prior   
to actual intercourse, but not long after that. Since that   
night many of my preconceived notions were replaced by the   
knowledge of someone who was truly considered an adult. I think   
this is why my future self was so ready to have relations with   
the future Hikaru. Still, I know there's no way he could have   
possibly kept it from Mado-- The pillow smacked the side of my   
head. I blinked. "Idiot..." Madoka said softly, "Wherever you   
were, it wasn't here." She smiled. "More concentration   
please."  
  
"Fine, I was just thinking of... No matter, well, let's   
see," I reached around her back to find the dress's zipper.   
When I had the handle firmly in my grip, I pulled it down   
slowly. I went bit by bit and looked into Madoka's eyes to see   
if I could detect a trace of annoyance. I was soon rewarded   
with a feigned look of boredom.   
  
She rolled her eyes at me. "Gonna take all night, Little   
Boy? Jeez, you're lucky I'm in a silly mood this evening." She   
tore at my clothing and I soon found myself less clothed than   
she. "Forget this, I think I'll just take over." So she did   
too... I wasn't aware that Madoka could be such a predator.   
Still... Ah... "Kyosuke..." I found myself caught in that   
which once again I could not, and would not explain. Her body   
moved on. The moment...  
  
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP"  
  
My eyes flew open and Madoka rolled over onto me, burbling   
something unintelligible. I looked over to the source of the   
disturbance. I grabbed at my pants and my watch fell out onto   
the bed. The watch blinked a digital 9:00 AM. I rubbed my eyes   
as I pondered this information... "SHIT!" I cried,   
unfortunately waking up Madoka. "I'm late for my Advanced   
English Literature class! Ishida is going to kill me!" I   
scrambled to collect my clothing. No sense in even trying to   
change at this point. I was never going to make it to the   
college before 9:30; I wasn't going to bother stopping at home.   
I threw on my crumpled jeans and wrinkled t-shirt as Madoka sat   
up, wrapping the sheet around her as she did so.  
  
"Is this really necessary?" she asked, yawning. "I mean,   
you're already going to be a half an hour late. Can't you just   
skip it?" She stepped out of bed and headed towards the   
bathroom. "Seriously," she said, looking back at me over her   
shoulder, "Aren't I worth the time for breakfast, at least?"  
  
I nearly tripped as I pulled on my sneakers. "Madoka..."   
I said without patience. "You know as well as I do that if I   
miss one more class for Ishida, he might drop me. Think about   
that..." I let a sly grin form on my visage. "I know you're a   
delinquent..." That last comment earned me a sheet to the face.   
"Ok, seriously, see you around..."  
  
Madoka stuck her head out of the bathroom door. "You can   
borrow the car. I don't have to be anywhere at all today, and   
you seem to need it a bit more than I. I guess my bad habits   
are rubbing of on you." She blew me a kiss. "See you around   
noon then, Little Boy." I waved over my shoulder and grabbed my   
other shoe. Hopping as I put it on, I nearly tumbled down   
Madoka's stairs. Once at the bottom, I grabbed her car keys and   
headed out the door. I bounced down the outside stairs and ran   
around to the garage. I turned the key when I got to the   
driver's side door and slide into the old worn in seats. I   
turned on the ignition and the ugly thing purred. I stepped on   
the break and shifted to drive.   
  
I rambled out of the garage and took a left towards the   
college complex. Not wanting to waste any time, I sped up to   
the speed limit of fifty five kilometers per hour. Madoka's car   
was an old something or other of European design. Maybe a   
Volkswagen. It certainly wasn't Japanese. I did like the paint   
job though. The car was red with two white race stripes running   
from the trunk to the hood and into the grill on the front. It   
looked like some kind of runaway cast member from Herbie Does   
Tokyo. I gazed out of the windshield barely aware of what was   
outside. When I reached the parking lot outside of the lecture   
hall, I jerked to a stop. Quickly I put Herbie's cousin in   
park, turned the key, and jumped out. I threw the keys in my   
pocket and ran through the double doors of the hall, taking a   
right towards Ishida's Advanced English Literature.   
  
I flew through the doors and tried to slip into a back   
seat. I hoped to whatever deities might exist that Professor   
Shun Ishida failed to notice my presence. The gods, however,   
chose not to listen to me. Whatever he was saying abruptly   
dropped off as his eyes zeroed in on me at the back of the room.   
"Kasuga Kyosuke..." he enunciated slowly, "This is the third   
time you've seen fit to make me look like a fool not worthy of   
your proper attendance. Is there something we need to discuss   
with Dean Yikukoto?" His eyes narrowed, daring me to defy him.  
  
I gulped audibly and tried to meet his gaze. "Uh..." I   
stammered, "Uhm, no, sir. I'll make sure to be on time from now   
on, uh, sir." I felt the air seep out of me like a deflated   
balloon. Maybe I should have stayed home with Ayukawa... I   
blinked. Jeez, I was so nervous, Madoka had switched back to   
Ayukawa... I *was* scared of this guy. I felt my cheeks heat   
up as the rest of the lecture hall broke out into laughter.  
  
Ishida's glasses flashed. "Glad we have an   
understanding." He turned back to his board and grabbed a pile   
of notes. "Now, back to the subject of Austen's use of   
vocabulary. You'll note in chapter three of Sense and   
Sensibility that she uses..." I sighed deeply as Ishida's focus   
returned to that of his subject. I had absolutely no interest   
in British literature. However, I wanted to become a   
journalist, and as such, I was hoping to increase my knowledge   
of English as much as possible. I tried my best to practice   
with Madoka, but she was far better at it than I. In fact, in   
the last few years I noticed her accent had become softer from   
when I had first heard her speak English on a trip to Hawaii.   
Her parents were having a concert and they had invited Madoka   
and any friends she wanted to bring along. Madoka, Hikaru, and   
I ended up going together. I've always thought of that trip as   
a turning point. I can not deny its influence on both of our   
decisions to face our love for each other.  
  
I choked as I thought Ishida was once again staring at me,   
but I relaxed as I noted that it was not me he was looking at.   
It was another unfortunate student doing the horrible act of   
chatting with a neighbor. The student practically died upon   
being noticed, and I was glad I wasn't the only one that Ishida   
held grudges against. Ishida seemed to let it slide and say   
nothing to her outside of the glare. I could feel the relief   
oozing out of the girl. She glanced at me with eyes that must   
have read, "This is going to be a *very* long class."   
  
So it was. I found myself drifting off every ten minutes   
despite all attempts to actually get into the source material.   
At least it was easier than high school. Unlike what I had   
heard of American schools, for the Japanese youth college is a   
break after the constant examinations of high school. This made   
it much easier to think straight, as well as get my bearings in   
both my professional and personal lives. Having something close   
to school without having to worry as much did wonders for my   
self-esteem. I thanked the deities when the bell finally rang,   
and removed myself quickly from the deathtrap of a classroom.  
  
I sighed loudly once I was outside of the lecture hall and   
headed out to the parking lot where the Herbiemobile was   
awaiting. I cursed automatically upon noting the traffic ticket   
on the windshield. It seemed as though I had not parked six   
inches from the curbs. Hell, I didn't even *know* you could get   
ticketed for that on a campus parking lot. Learn something new   
every day, I suppose. I opened the car door as other students,   
glad to be out of there as well, pushed past me to get to their   
own vehicles. Some jerk even cut me off as I was pulling out.   
The fear that Ishida inspires could even lead to reckless   
driving... Maybe the man should have been locked up long ago.   
I shifted into reverse and backed out of the parking lot. Now   
it was time for some breakfast, or brunch, with Madoka.  
  
The little car rambled down the small Tokyo streets as I   
headed home to Madoka. I looked at myself in the mirror.   
Though it had only been a month since the incident involving   
time-travel, I could swear my tan was getting darker and my   
figure was bulking up. Just like that of Kyosuke from three   
years yet to come. I smiled as a took a left down Madoka's   
street and wondered if it was just me trying to flatter myself.   
He had just seemed so much older and more... Well, that wasn't   
even it, after three years, I'd expect him-- uh me? --to be   
older, but it was more than that. His experience was echoed in   
his looks, as if his mere maturity had caused the change from   
what I was now to what I would be then. He seemed so sure of   
himself and so sure of the world around him... So sure that he   
and Madoka were to always be. I didn't like to admit it, but I   
often worried. So, our relationship was guaranteed for another   
three years at the very least, but what about after that? I   
gave myself another once over when I pulled into Madoka's   
garage. "Good Luck!" I told my reflection... And for a moment,   
I could have sworn I heard it reply "Thank you, Kyosuke. You   
too."  
  
I slipped out of the car and shut the door behind me as I   
stepped out onto the concrete floor of the garage and made my   
way around to the front door. I hadn't completely wrapped my   
fingers around the door, when it swung open, almost smashing me   
in the face. "Boo," whispered Madoka as she peered out at me.   
Her sun dress already on. "I made some ham, eggs, and hash   
browns... And plenty of coffee," she explained as we headed   
from the door to the kitchen. The food was already out, with   
carafes of juice and milk next to the steaming pot of rich dark   
brew. "I tried something new, and attempted to cook the ham in   
a honey sauce. I found the recipe for it in some of my sister's   
stuff. So, I thought, 'What the hell?'" She poured us both some   
coffee as we sat down to eat.  
  
"It looks positively scrumptious," I said, and I meant it.   
It looked like the recipe required a sprinkling of brown sugar,   
as I could see grains glinting in the light as I cut into the   
pink meat. Adding it to a small pile of hash browns, I stuffed   
the combination into my mouth and savored the taste. Who would   
have thought it? From tomboy to delinquent to the perfect   
wif... I almost choked at the thought, but managed to contain   
my food with a quick swig of coffee. Following that by cutting   
more meat and eating it, I hoped Madoka had missed my near   
choking-to-death. I added some hash browns to the mix and   
placed them in my mouth, chewing diligently.  
  
"Kyosuke?" Madoka asked suddenly.  
  
"Mmm?" I responded through a mouth of partially chewed ham   
and hash browns.  
  
Her eyes looked deep into her soul as she explained, "It   
was you, wasn't it... Nine years ago, I mean... In the park."  
  
I blinked. What park? I certainly wasn't in the area   
nine years before. "Madoka, what are you talking about?" I   
took another bite of hash browns as I waited for her to explain.   
  
She distanced her eyes as if viewing something far, far   
away. "Nine years ago, as you know, I met a man who saved my   
life. I've been wondering since the day I found out you had   
supernatural powers if you were somehow him. He had powers   
too... I know it's silly... But I remember his face so   
clearly... Funny how I never noticed he looked so much like you   
until that day..."  
  
"Ma-ma-adoka," I coughed. I now remembered what she was   
talking about. Three years ago, I heard a story of a man who   
was Madoka's first love. He promised her he'd return in six   
years to where they first met, under a tree in the park near   
those stairs I'm so taken with. My grandfather, who is   
telepathic, sensed my displeasure upon finding out there had   
been someone before me and sent me back in time to find out what   
the situation was there. And indeed, I met the nine year old   
Madoka Ayukawa... Who I ended up saving... Who ended up   
falling in love with me. Originally, Madoka had known it was   
me, since my grandfather had sent her back in time to retrieve   
me. But when Kazuya, my cousin, came to get both of us, I had   
him send us back to the morning before we traveled back in time.   
I remembered everything because of the Power... Madoka,   
however, never remembered anything. Yet now, she had put two   
and two together, and found out the solution equaled four.  
  
"Yes," I breathed.  
  
"Hmm, Kyosuke? Yes, what?" she inquired.  
  
I swallowed. "Yes... In the park... That was me...   
Grandfather had sent me back and I..."  
  
In the gravity of the situation, I wasn't able to use the   
power to prevent Madoka's mug from shattering. Not that I   
suppose it mattered. Who cared about a mug at a time like   
this? We stared in silence at the broken mug for what seemed   
like the next best thing to eternity. Finally, she spoke. "So,   
when you said he still loved me... It was because you love   
me... And that woman who looked like my sister, but wasn't...   
I went back with you? Why can't I remember?"  
  
I bit my lip. Madoka had figured out more than I would   
have ever thought... Maybe, just maybe the power was rubbing   
off on her... That would explain how she put together the   
situation so quickly. Then again, Madoka was smart. Smarter   
than me by a large degree. I would never put it past her to   
figure out anything on her own. Regardless, she knew now, no   
sense in keeping it a secret. "The power, Madoka, is what   
allows me to remember. Since you don't have the power, and we   
came back before we, ah, well 'left,' there was no need for your   
present self to remember what had happened."  
  
Worry crossed Madoka's visage as she fought some inner   
battle I couldn't begin to understand. "Kyosuke... You   
didn't... You didn't do this on purpose, did you? Knowing that   
I'd fall in love with you and... Because if you did, then you   
know all of this is... just..." Tears began to form in her eyes   
as she gazed pleadingly at me.  
  
"MADOKA!" I screamed, my voice cracking even though I was   
several months nineteen. "How could you even think something   
like that? I'd never do anything to hurt you, least of all go   
on some damn fool trip to the past to make you love me. Call it   
a fluke, call it destiny, call it whatever you like, but I never   
created your love. Besides, that version of me in the past   
existed long before I ever knew that it was me. I suppose I   
could restore your memories, but I'm not sure I have the power   
to do so, I think we should consult Grandfather on that fact.   
And I know, if I can't do it, he can, or it shouldn't be done at   
all."  
  
"I believe you, Kyosuke," she said, her eyes' expression   
fading to happiness and relief, "I just needed assurance. I'm   
not as sure as I pretend to be, you know that. I just didn't   
want our love to be... staged. I had to know it was you, even   
though I guess my heart knew all along. I guess that red straw   
hat is really a red string of destiny..." I chuckled at that.   
It turned out that the hat I had caught on the stairs four years   
ago had been bought for Madoka by none other than myself after   
traveling back in time. It was something I had instilled on the   
tomboyish nine year old. If it hadn't been for my description   
of the current Madoka, however aside, not mentioning exactly who   
it was I was describing, she never would have grown her hair out   
or began wearing skirts... Or stopped being a tomboy. Whether   
I intended to or not, she was partially right, I did help create   
my ideal woman. But the love... No, the love was inside the   
tomboy before the skirts, before the hair, before the trading of   
the soccer ball for the doll... The love caused these changes,   
not the other way around. I was not responsible for making her   
love me, that I could honestly insist.  
  
"Madoka..."  
  
Her smile appeared, and my heart nearly jumped through my   
throat as it did. "Kyosuke... I love you so much..." The   
chair scrapes as she moved it closer to me and embraced me   
fiercely. I could have stayed in this moment forever, feeling   
her warmth on my chest, listening to her breathing. If there's   
anything better than having sex with Madoka Ayukawa, it's just   
being with her forever and always. Nothing else mattered in   
that moment. Just her and me and the sound of her breathing   
gently into my chest. The concept of love made tangible at   
last. I'm not sure how long we sat there, I know neither of us   
really cared. We would have stayed that way had it not been for   
the phone call that rang. "Leave it," she said quietly, but my   
instincts, the Power possibly, told me that this was a call not   
to be missed.  
  
I gently rebalanced Madoka so she could sit on her own   
without falling off the chair. Getting up, I walked over to the   
phone and lifted the portable receiver of its base and pressed   
the talk button. "Ayukawa Residence, may I help you?"  
  
"Ah, Kyosuke," came the craggy voice of my grandfather, "I   
thought I could sense your thoughts well enough to determine you   
were at Madoka's. Good, good. Kyosuke, we are having a family   
meeting at your father's apartment. There are things that we   
need to discuss now that you and Madoka are having sexua--"  
  
"Grandfather!" I yelled, scandalized. The old man had   
absolutely no sense of decency. "Yes, ok, well, it's actually a   
good thing you called anyway. She knows about the time   
traveling incident involving us ten years ago. I needed to know   
if you could restore her memories."  
  
I heard the eyebrow raise. "She knows, but she doesn't   
remember?"   
  
"Apparently she just put two and two together. I mean,   
it's not exactly hard, considering I looked almost exactly as I   
did when I traveled back in time, and..." I rubbed my right   
temple with my free fingers. "This is hurting my head.   
Besides, I saved her life by using the Power. How hard is it   
really to take the fact I looked like the guy who saved her and   
then that we both have supernatural powers and come up with the   
conclusion the two of us are one in the same? The odds of us   
being different are... Well, regardless, she figured it out."  
  
"I see, Kyosuke. Well, we can deal with that over dinner,   
since we have so much to discuss. And make sure Madoka wears   
something tight fitting... Leather perhaps?"  
  
"Grandfather!" I yelled again. "Have some decency,   
please. Besides, we're eating dinner, not going clubbing."   
Which was a good thing, I suppose. I was never really one for   
clubs, though I would go there if Madoka wanted to go. She   
always liked the discos, but then she was a big fan of the   
Japanese rock scene. There were a few artists like Wada Kanako,   
BlueW, and the Alfee that I liked, but those generally were not   
the kind of people Madoka listened to. Considering my   
grandfather's request, I decided that one of Madoka's sun   
dresses with a floral print would be a wise choice. I didn't   
land Madoka just to have her fondled by my pervert of a   
grandfather. "We'll be there around seven o'clock. See you   
then." I placed the phone back on its base and walked over to   
the table where Madoka was collecting our plates.  
  
"I heard you mention the memories," she said quietly.  
  
"Yes." I nodded.  
  
"What does he think?" She placed the dishes in the sink.   
"Does he think the memories can be restored?" Scrubbing absently   
she turned to look at me.  
  
"He doesn't really know. But there are other things about   
the Power I guess he wants to discuss. I guess we'll find out   
later." I looked at the clock. It was already past noon. I   
had a some photographing to do later that day, for a   
photojournalism class I had just started. "What do you think of   
going on a shoot with me?"  
  
She blinked at me before her face changed. "Are you   
trying to change the subject?" she asked me.  
  
"Only partially," I admitted. "I have this project where I   
need to take pictures of those things that make me who I am. I   
can't turn in a project with that subject if it doesn't include   
you. You're more important than anything else, and so I need   
you just as much as I'm trying to change the subject." I was   
thinking that taking along Madoka might do well both for her and   
for my grade. Though I'm sure that sounds just a bit insincere,   
especially in such a time as this was, I was actually just   
trying to multitask. It couldn't leave her to mope around the   
house, and how could I describe my life in pictures without a   
few dozen or so of her? Madoka means everything to me, and I   
needed to show that. She is my life, all else is secondary. It   
was less getting a good grade because she was with me, than   
meeting the minimum requirements for the project.  
  
A glisten swept across Madoka's eyes before she replied,   
"You either tell the truth, or have gotten much better at   
flattery since we first met." I went to complain, albeit,   
half-heartedly, but she cut me off. "I know which one it is. I   
just like to tease you."  
  
"After last night," I responded, "do you really think it's   
wise to do so again?" I was very nearly caught up in the scent   
of her, and the warmth of our bodies, and the... I shook myself   
out of this. I needed to get those shots.  
  
"No," Madoka agreed, reluctantly, "I guess it wouldn't be   
such a good idea. It would be fun though."  
  
"Can't argue with that." I looked around for my equipment   
hanging by the door. I walked towards them and grabbed my keys   
as well as my camera and accessories. "Should we take my   
scooter or your Herbiemobile?" I asked while looking at the   
amount of equipment. I could have easily put it in the   
compartment in my scooter, but then, it was summer, and the   
little red car had air conditioning...  
  
"My car," she said, "it has air conditioning. And just   
what do you mean by Herbiemobile?" She looked at me   
inquisitively.  
  
"You've never seen the Love Bug?" I asked. I was   
surprised. Even in Japan, Disney films were considered   
classics.  
  
"The what?"  
  
"I'll explain later," I told her as we headed out of the   
door of the house and down the steps towards the street. I   
gazed up at her house as we walked in front of it. It was a   
large two-story house by Japanese standards. The direction of   
the house didn't actually face the street, but instead faced to   
the right. The stairs and garden were built to face the street,   
as well the basement and garage, but they seemed at odds with   
the rest of the white house. The house's roofs were tiled in a   
brown and ornamental shutters graced each window. Running   
around the second floor on the outside was a wonderful white   
brick balcony with steel supports, some of which gracefully   
appeared to add even more oddness to the house. Yet more was in   
the way the garage was built. As I said, it was connected to   
the basement, and yet it had no door. It was open, more like a   
car port wedged underneath the house. It actually did nothing   
to keep away the elements if there was a wind blowing. It   
looked nice, but I suppose that's all it really did. My   
favorite feature of the house, besides the trees that sat at   
each side of the house, was the small anteroom feel of the space   
covered in front of the door. Unlike a majority of houses,   
where you might get cold or hot or wet while attempting to open   
the door, the small five by five "anteroom" kept this from   
happening. I took another gaze at it before slipping into the   
small red Volkswagen.  
  
I suppose we could have even walked if we had so wished.   
The park where I wanted to shoot really wasn't all that far from   
Madoka's house, and my own apartment was very nearby. However,   
it was a hot day, and I had my equipment, and despite my   
nickname for it, I liked Madoka's little red car. It was a   
short drive, not much more than ten minutes or so, and we pulled   
up along the curb. The park was wedged between our stairs and a   
residential section and so it had no true parking lot. I   
worried only slightly that we might get a ticket. We never had   
before. Of course, then again, every time before I had locked   
my scooter within park bounds, and the car never came along. We   
could easily see the car from where I wanted to shoot, so if a   
police officer asked for its removal, we could oblige him.  
  
I thought it cute to have Madoka be on the swings since so   
much had happened there. I gazed around and marveled. The most   
important events of my life, with the exception of my birth and   
my mother's untimely death, had happened within the range of a   
few square miles. The swings for instance are where I convinced   
Madoka not to return to America. Where we sat and talked about   
innumerable things. The playground it was in was the place   
where the time travel incident occurred that was causing us both   
such stress. I shook my head. No time for that. I brought out   
my Nikon 3100 and aimed it, at an angle, to capture a moment in   
time: Madoka swinging slowly, a broad smile on her face, the sun   
hat on her head, and the sun dress wafting in the breeze.   
  
I took several more shots of her on the swing before   
moving on. Though it was tough to be so steady, I got a lovely   
shot of her sprawled out on the merry-go-round from up in a   
tree. I was quite a bit away, but you couldn't tell because of   
my Nikon's long range lens. It had cost me an arm and a leg,   
but it was well worth it. I had already gotten a dozen shots of   
small children at play as well as few of urban wildlife like   
birds and squirrels without having to disturb them. This,   
however, was one of the best shots. We moved onto the stairs.   
As I snapped, memories came flooding back, as is what always   
happens when I'm on these stairs. These stairs lead to destiny.   
We finally worked our way up to the top of the stairs. Not   
being too far from my apartment, I suggested we stop there for a   
rest from the hot Pacific sun.  
  
We trundled through the sliding glass doors of the Green   
Castle Apartments. When my sisters and father moved into a   
house from this very same apartment building, I opted to remain   
in an efficiency apartment on a lower floor. My family still   
lived in Tokyo, though a few miles away from here in a house   
that Madoka had helped them find. The reason I stayed was in   
part because of the proximity of the apartment to the college   
and in part because of its proximity to Madoka. Ok, so maybe   
more of the latter than the former. The apartment building was   
very much built in the style of Madoka's house, and I wondered,   
more than once, if they had had the same designer. The multiple   
floors were stacked almost haphazardly, and the large balconies   
had the same steel frame sometimes showing. The white was the   
same color, albeit maybe a slight bit more miffed from overuse.   
My room itself was fairly bare. It contained no carpeting, just   
a small bed with a metal frame, a desk in the opposite corner,   
and a bookshelf containing my telephone and a picture of myself   
and Madoka overlooking Yokohama Bay.  
  
Under the left hand side of the desk, I had a small   
refrigerator. Inside I had a couple of cutlet sandwiches and a   
few beers. The sandwiches were a holdover from my high school   
days, and the beers were a recent development. I blame Madoka   
for that. Sometimes her drinking scares me. I admit, she   
drinks less than she once did, still I find she goes overboard   
at times. Besides, she's a mean drunk... However, I wasn't   
really thinking of that at the time, and I tossed her one of the   
beers and a sandwich. At first we munched in mutual silence,   
then, suddenly, Madoka whipped out my camera and snapped a shot   
of me stuffing my face. Overcome, I dived on her and wrestled   
her into submission, retrieving my camera and returning it to   
its satchel.  
  
"I thought we weren't going to do that so soon," Madoka   
teased.  
  
"I didn't follow through, besides, how else would I have   
gotten my camera back?"  
  
"You could have asked nicely."  
  
"Uh huh," I said, staring her in the eyes, "I don't   
believe that for a second and neither do you."  
  
"I suppose," she said, biting off a piece of cutlet   
sandwich. Maybe it was just me, or maybe it was just the   
arousal cut short, but I could almost swear she was biting into   
the sandwich seductively. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but   
still... "Is there a reason you're staring at me so intently?"   
she asked, as if reading my thoughts.  
  
I raised an eyebrow. "Is there any reason I can't?"  
  
"Hmm," she responded, feigning deep thought, "that's an   
excellent question. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to   
that." She set her beer down, slid off of the bed, and walked   
over to me. She gently began to massage my shoulders. "Even   
though you never appear to be, you get so tense when taking   
pictures. You get into all these weird positions to find just   
the right shots and eventually end up with a back like this one   
--full of knots." Instead of answerinng, I merely sighed   
appreciatively, relaxing into the able hands.  
  
Often, it seemed my peers couldn't see the point of a   
serious relationship. They argued that we all had plenty of   
time to find that person who means everything to us. However, I   
respond, what if that certain person is already in your life?   
Should the two of you really wait? I didn't believe that. No   
way with Madoka here could I have believed it. Of course, I   
often wondered just how much of the power affected my destiny.   
One thing I had often considered, how many incidents can   
actually be attributed to the power's influence. This is not to   
say that the power is in and of itself a sentient being, but it   
isn't beyond reason that it "helps" along those who wield it. I   
would indeed say that at the time I met Madoka, I was quite   
lonely. My sisters love me, but sometimes they show it in weird   
ways, and often my father works late. This was fine --when I   
had friends. However, because of one of Kurumi's power misuses,   
we moved to Tokyo, and I found myself exploring the area. This   
included the stairs that I met Madoka on. I've often asked   
myself whether the power "sensed" my loneliness and diverted   
Madoka to me, or me to her, or in some way altered the situation   
unnaturally.  
  
My own concerns about the legitimacy of our relationship   
went unvoiced as far as Madoka knew. She obviously had far too   
much to worry about already, and I didn't want to add to it.   
Instead I, maybe incorrectly, kept those thoughts to myself. I   
knew eventually we'd have to discuss it, but I wasn't ready to   
bring it up now. To be honest, there were many things that   
Madoka and I would have to discuss that I really didn't want to.   
I had actually been thinking quite a bit about marriage. I knew   
from my foray to the future that it was too early to propose   
now, and besides, I really didn't have any kind of steady   
income. I was on a work-study program with the university to   
help pay for my college education, but that allowed me a daily   
allowance of something like twenty-five hundred yen. That   
barely covered rent and food. Anything extra my father was   
gracious enough to provide. He always said it was his duty to   
help me until I could help myself. No way could I place a   
burden on him by asking Madoka to marry me.  
  
Of course, I was still assuming that I would be the   
responsible party when it came to finances. That lead to   
another dark subject I really didn't even want to think about.   
It would be moronic of me to think that I could avoid the   
subject of our differing economic class, but every day, I   
ignored the obvious. I never paid any attention to Madoka's   
wealth because, in the end, it didn't matter. It still doesn't,   
not really. However, there were things to be hammered out in   
traditional Japanese fashion. The tradition could even go so   
far as me having to take her name. I laughed a bit at that:   
Ayukawa Kyosuke. In Japanese society it is not always the   
male's name that is taken. The bond between the families   
usually reflect the family of the higher status. Though the   
idea of this status procedure may already seem silly, it gets   
worse for us. Despite Madoka's wealth, there was also the   
matter of her heritage.  
  
Madoka's father is of Anglo-Saxon descent. He's an   
American, to be even more specific. Her parents live in America   
where they are famous violinists in the New York Philharmonic.   
Even in this day and age, non-Japanese are considered outsiders   
at the very best, and inferior at the very worst. Madoka,   
though clearly Japanese in culture and personality, still had   
Anglo-American blood flowing through her, "devaluing" her in the   
patriarchal Japanese societal mindset. True, it was all   
entirely absurd. If push came to shove with either of the   
families, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to whisk Madoka off   
and have a private personal ceremony. Where'd we go from there,   
I'm not sure, but we'd figure out something. Clan rivalries had   
no place in a world on the verge of the twenty-first century. I   
wouldn't allow them to interfere.  
  
"Kyosuke," I heard very far away. "Kyosuke." Closer now.   
My eyes creaked open slowly. "Ah, good you're awake." Madoka   
looked at me, amusement apparent on her face. "You were   
enjoying that massage so much that you fell asleep quite some   
time ago. It's nearing the time we're supposed to go over to   
your family's house to discuss... things..." Her visage turned   
darker as she searched around for the car keys. A moment later   
her features stretched out in shock. "The car! We left the car   
at the park!" Within seconds, we had both bolted out of my   
apartment, slid down the fire-escape, and were running towards   
the park with all due speed. Luckily, the close proximity that   
had lead us to walk to my apartment in the first place, was on   
our side as we raced. We were quite relieved to find that not   
even a ticket graced the small red car.  
  
The Herbiemobile slowly putted to life and rambled off   
into the main part of the road. Eventually, it stopped putting   
and rambling altogether. Amazingly, at faster speeds, the car   
seemed to glide across the open road. Maybe it was in response   
to its race car heritage. I made a note to myself to inquire   
about the origin of the car at a later date. Instead, I focused   
on the looming meeting. The house my family was now living in   
was quite a bit away from my apartment. Though further from the   
school than my apartment (and the apartment we used to have),   
the administration still allowed my sisters to go there. They   
agreed that it would be rather stupid to remove the girls from a   
stable environment. I admit it wouldn't matter much longer, as   
my sisters would very soon graduate from high school. Madoka   
and I discussed this with offhandedly as we pulled up to my   
family's new house. In the driveway next to the small blue   
Honda my father owned was another car I didn't recognize. It   
was a small red sports car with a huge spoiler on the back. I   
couldn't think of anyone we knew who could afford such a thing.  
  
As Madoka and I exited her vehicle, my grandfather came   
down the walkway to greet us. "Kyosuke, Madoka," he said by way   
of salutation. He peered up and down Madoka with enough of a   
leer to make me genuinely nervous. "Looking quite sexy there,   
Madoka." He then pointed over his shoulder to the red sports   
car behind him. "Like the car? I just got it. It has alloy   
wheels, a crimson-metal paint job, spoiler, custom lights,   
leather bucket seats, custom exhaust pipes..." He went on down   
the list for several minutes until he noticed my attention was   
waning.  
  
"Grandfather!" I heard myself shout. "You can't be   
serious... Do you even know how to drive? Do you have a   
license?" Nothing about the old man suggested that either of   
these would be true. In fact, quite the opposite. "When did   
you learn to drive?"  
  
"Kyosuke, Kyosuke, Kyosuke," he scolded lightly as he   
shook his head, "You take things much too seriously. I just   
went to the Department of Motor Vehicles and they gave me one."   
He smiled at me and whipped out a driver's license with a goofy   
picture of himself on it. "See, there, I told you."  
  
I looked at him with suspicion. "What do you mean they   
just gave one to you? You mean you made them give it to you,   
right, Grandfather?" My grandparents were distinctly indiscrete   
about their powers. They lived up in the mountains where the   
only people they met on a daily basis were weary travelers and   
uneducated mountain folk. These people, even if they bothered   
complaining about the strange happenings at the Kasuga Lodge   
would never have been believed. Superstitious as the mountain   
folk were anyway, my grandparents probably seemed somewhat   
normal or expected. Hence, my grandparents had lived their   
lives without worrying about losing their home, or their   
friends, or becoming the target of a government conspiracy to   
turn them into some kind of super weapon. Now, I admit, this   
might seem a bit paranoid, but trust me, having special powers   
isn't without its downside.   
  
Sometimes I think I get worried too often, but I as I   
said, paranoia is the first line of defense. I always feared   
that we would have to move back to the country with my   
grandparents to avoid their spectacles. In the country, their   
parlor tricks were amusing. In the city, however, they could be   
threatening to our chosen way of life. My grandparents (mostly   
my grandfather) were used to using their powers whenever they   
felt like it, so I guess I couldn't totally blame them. When   
one gets old, it's said that it is harder to change. I've   
experienced some of that myself. However, I'm sure not to the   
degree that faced my grandparents or even my parents. I can't   
imagine how hard my mother's death hit my father. If Madoka   
ever...  
  
"Kyosuke," my father said, sticking his head out the door.   
"It's much too bad I have seen so little of you lately.   
However, if you would come in, we got some Mr. Fried Chicken   
baskets. I know how much you like it. If you would please come   
in, we'll get started with the family meeting. Right,   
Grandfather?"   
  
"Oh, what, oh? Right. Right, you are," my grandfather   
affirmed as we walked through the door of my family's new house.   
My grandfather expertly navigated around the furnishings in the   
house that was still very unfamiliar to me. Not surprisingly,   
when we all reached the dining room, my sisters were already   
scarfing down fried chicken, mash potatoes, cole slaw, and hot   
buttermilk biscuits. My mouth watered at the very sight. It   
didn't take long for one to see that fried chicken was my   
favorite food. Well, to be honest, it was everything I just   
described. I loved everything that came with the meal.   
Especially the biscuits. Left alone with a box of biscuits and   
a bottle of honey, I'd eat the entire thing before I knew what   
was happening. Not pleased with what I saw, I quickly forgot   
both my table manners and the fact that this was a serious   
occasion and began to fill up my plate.  
  
Madoka gave me a mock-glare as she took a seat next to me,   
and slowly, carefully-- faux-gracefully filled up her own plate.   
I knew it was just to tease me. Sadly the only things I could   
think of for revenge would have been completely.. ah...   
inappropriate. Instead, I just made plans for later. Soon   
after, the rest of my family sat down at the table and dug in   
with a large sense of informality. Dinner could be funny. What   
was to come after could not. I snatched some more mash potatoes   
from Kurumi. She rasp berried me in normal fashion. Also in   
normal fashion, Jingoro, our pet cat, was begging. I threw him   
a small piece of chicken which he quickly began to nibble at on   
the floor. Grandfather made himself useful and passed out soft   
drinks.  
  
As the food disappeared quickly, the air grew tense, and   
my grandfather's face turned serious. Everyone around the small   
table recognized it and fell silent. The last time Madoka had   
seen my grandfather so serious... No, that was my grandfather   
from the future and the Madoka from the future. This Madoka had   
never seen things happen when my grandfather was serious. I was   
impressed with her ability to either recognize the need for   
attention or to take her cues from the rest of us.  
  
"Madoka," Grandfather spoke slowly, "You know quite a bit   
now about the Kasuga family, but you do not know everything.   
After discussing it with Grandmother, my children, of which I   
consider Kyosuke's father one, we've decided to fully bring you   
into the fold. This is not by any means an obligation to wed   
Kyosuke. Though, I feel you wouldn't mind." He winked at us   
both before continuing. "No, what this means is that we lay our   
secret, and indeed, our lives in your hands. Kyosuke's father   
was lucky, in a way, he wasn't aware of the power until after   
his parents had wed. There was no reason for my daughter to use   
her power as often as Kyosuke has had to simply defending his   
life. I understand the differences between a rural existence   
and an urban one, even if Kyosuke doesn't believe me." I   
gulped. I forgot my grandfather was telepathic.  
  
"The oldest manuscripts," he went on, "that we can find   
indicate that the Kasuga family is descended straight from the   
Emperor's Line, and thus directly related to the gods. Now   
whether you believe this or not, I'm simply tracing the line as   
far back as we can go. The next reports are writings of a   
Chinese philosopher that sate that he believes there are certain   
areas in the world that contribute to destiny. 'It is   
conceivable,' he writes, 'that one clan could receive eternal   
powers by remaining in one of these areas for generations.'   
That suggests maybe the mountains of Hokkaido are an 'area' and   
have given their powers to the Kasuga family. The third option   
is one I've been researching on my own, rather haphazardly I   
admit, it could be purely scientific. The energy might have   
something to do with the magnetic fields throughout the body,   
charged by the electrical impulses running through it."  
  
Grandfather looked around and saw that those of us who had   
heard it before nodded. "Now," he said after a moment, "there   
are practical things to the clan, besides just the history of   
it. We don't really have formal meetings. It'd be too   
dangerous. We have our enemies, and if you get involved,   
Madoka, you will be a target. There are very few members of the   
Kasuga Clan still aware of their heritage. Generally, if   
they're not aware, we don't have to worry about them, because   
their powers will never surface. For the record, the entire   
clan basically consists of myself, my wife, my son and   
son-in-law, Kazuya, Kyosuke, Kurumi, Manami, and now you, if you   
accept. If not, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stay away   
from us, because you'll not only be in danger, you'll be putting   
us in danger. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Madoka looked hurt. "Of course, I accept. I may not have   
been respectful of my own family obligations, but this is less   
about you, if I may be so blunt. I won't let Kyosuke go. If   
I'm a target now, so be it. I'll do all I can to fulfill   
whatever obligations I may have in order to satisfy my   
relationship with him." I smiled as I felt her hand grip mine   
under the table. "Whatever is needed of me to protect him, just   
ask, and I'll see it through." The air in the room was tense   
and Madoka blushed slightly at the power of her response.  
  
Grandfather waved her blush away. "You have nothing to be   
ashamed of. We understand where your loyalties lie. That is   
what we are looking for anyway. If your reasons for protecting   
us and accepting risk is simply on Kyosuke's behalf, go for it.   
In the end, you are still helping to protect us and accepting   
risk to yourself. We're adding quite a bit of stress to your   
life and I'm glad you've chosen to essentially become part of   
our family. Even if you do not wed Kyosuke, which I feel is an   
unlikely event, you will still be part of our family."  
  
"I understand," Madoka answered, resolve hardening her   
usually soft features. "You may know that I don't respect   
obligations that I do not enter into freely. However, when I   
give my word, as I do now before you all, I stand by it. I'm   
proud to be considered part of your family." Madoka gazed   
around the table. "And, over the years, I've grown to love you   
all as my family. This promise is simply a vocal affirmation of   
what I've already pledged myself to."  
  
"Kyosuke," Grandfather said as he looked from Madoka,   
"Take her home. You two need to talk. Also, I feel that you   
should be able to restore her memories by yourself. It's a very   
intimate things, and I don't want to get involved. I may be a   
bit..." he shrugged in absence of a word, "...at times, but I   
know when to stay out of the way." He looked back at Madoka.   
"Eventually you understand, I want you to at least review the   
complete history of the Kasuga clan. Especially the parts about   
the clan's enemies. There are tips in there that descendents of   
the clan gathered to have the ability to recognize and avoid   
them. You must eventually read those parts, if not all of what   
I have collected into a volume of clan history." He stood up,   
and we all followed. He moved over and embraced us both. "Now,   
go home."  
  
My family waved as Madoka and I left the house and headed   
for her car. Once again, she slipped into the red European   
auto. Rather suddenly, Madoka pulled out and slipped out into   
the street. With amazing skill, Madoka shifted into a higher   
gear and the car barely seemed to stop before changing   
directions like some kind of flying saucer with racing stripes.   
She continued at a normal pace for Tokyo residential streets. As   
we passed the park on the way to her house, we hit a pot hole   
quite hard. The shock caused the glove compartment to snap   
open, and out of it a piece of paper fell onto the floor below   
my feet. I couldn't get at it, so I unbuckled my seatbelt and   
reached down to get it. I should have just placed it back into   
the compartment, but no, I had to read it. I regret what I   
found there.  
Pay to the Order of Nihon Mortgage Company:  
  
5,000,000 Yen  
  
Midsize house at corner of Yanta and Kokoro  
  
By: Ayukawa Madoka  
  
Account #877-876460-7766  
I blinked at the address I quickly recognized as my own   
now, or at least my family's. "What the hell is this?" I   
turned and stared at Madoka, holding up the paper as I did so.  
  
"Hmm?" she murmured as she tried looking at the document   
with her peripheral vision. "Oh, I just helped put a down   
payment on your family's new house, as your father needed to buy   
some new equipment for his latest shoot. Once he gets paid,   
he'll pay me back."  
  
"Oh," I said disdainfully, "He'll pay you back. Well   
then, that makes it all perfectly understandable. You should   
have told me. He should have told me. I could have cut down   
somewhere. Dammit, you people need to talk to me." I was   
feeling quite upset. I thought I had a right to. "Going behind   
my back like this. The both of you. It's shameful! Madoka, you   
overstepped your bounds."  
  
"Will you just listen to yourself? And of all times,   
after I'm accepted into your fam--"  
  
"You weren't then," I said bitterly, cutting her off.  
  
Madoka flashed me an angered look the likes I hadn't seen   
for nearly two years or more. "Oh, shut up. You know damn well   
that's a load of bull-- AHHHH--" Her sudden scream prompted me   
to look around quickly. It took me mere milliseconds to   
register the source that had elicited her scream. In the   
argument, we hadn't noticed that someone was going straight   
through their red light. Before we could react, there was a   
sickeningly loud crunch. Indescribably soon after, the little   
red car was flying down the red lighted street, rubber   
screeching and asphalt flying. I remember at least one of the   
tires exploding, the rim whining along the road. At one point   
the car tipped over and rolled down into a ditch. The contents   
of the car, including Madoka and myself, were thrown about like   
so much cocktail mix. When the car finally impacted the guard   
rail at the bottom, I was hurled out of the car. As I sailed   
through the air, I had a moment to reflect on the action of   
removing my seatbelt. I, Kasuga Kyosuke, quickly lost   
consciousness and the already darkened world turned the darkest   
black I can ever remembering witnessing. 


	2. Alternate Beginning

Author Notes: The first chapter was quite a success. Of course, I find  
that I have little competition. I've pretty much cornered the market. I  
wish that wasn't so, but it's a nice designation none-the-less. Anyways,  
this chapter takes place in the same universe shown in episode 48. For  
those of you that caught it, in regards to Madoka's name as compared to  
everyone eles's (ie Madoka Ayukawa as opposed to Kasuga Kyosuke) it fell  
through the cracks. It has been fixed. I am so sorry this has taken so  
long... It's huge. That is all.  
  
Thanks to: Corvus. He's never seen the series, and yet still he prereads for  
me. In fact, he's my main editor, advisor, contributor. I couldn't do this  
without him. If you like the fic, he's partially responsible for it and  
deserves your praise. This all from a man who has never seen KOR. What a  
guy, right?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Kimagure Orange Road, no matter  
how much I may want to. (Personal Madoka, anyone?) Kyosuke, Madoka, Hikaru  
and pals belong to a multitude of people, including but not limited to:  
Matsumoto Izumi, Akemi Takada, Tereda-san, Toho, Studio Pierrot, NHS TV,  
AnimEigo, and ADV Films.  
  
Kimagure Orange Road Forever  
Chapter Two  
"Alternate Beginning"  
  
"Ugh," I moaned. I, Kasuga Kyosuke, had one hell of a headache.   
Stars still flew about my head and my perception was haunted by a feeling of  
indescribable "wrongness". I had an awful taste in my mouth and my neck  
needed a good twist, but those were the least of my concerns. I was faintly  
aware of something warm and liquid running down my face and into my eyes. I  
reach up and felt the substance, and noted it was quickly drying. Opening my  
eyes as much as I could, I detachedly ascertained the substance was blood.   
I mentally scratched my head and considered this. I obviously had recieved  
some sort of wound in the crash-- the crash! "MADOKA!" I bellowed loudly.   
I sat upright so quickly my back complained harshly. I ignored it and called  
again, "MADOKA!" while frantically looking in all directions I could.  
  
"Shh," came a voice from behind me. "I'm fine." I let a breath out  
in a long sigh. She was ok. At least she was ok. I had been stupid to be  
so angry. It didn't matter if she was alive. "However," she said coming  
around to face me, "I don't think you're entitled to use my first name, even  
if you did save me that one time." I stared at her when she concluded her  
sentence. The breath that had so suddenly come out in a sigh was now stuck  
in my throat, unable to move. The increased pressure was weighing heavily  
upon my chest; my heart complained it might cave in. I wasn't sure if I was  
either greatly injured, or if Madoka was just mixed up from the crash.   
Though she had no outward signs of harm, there was no way to tell what damage  
actually had occured. For my own sanity, I assumed that I was the one who  
was mixed up and not her.  
  
"Wha..." I groaned. "I must have hit my head pretty hard.   
Regardless," I said as I lay back to ease the pain, "you seem to be perfectly  
all right, and that's all that matters." I closed my eyes and rubbed my  
temple with the unbloodied hand.  
  
When I opened my eyes again, Madoka stared at me oddly. "Of course,  
I'm all right," she said, bending over towards me. "I wasn't the one who got  
hit by a car."  
  
I shook my head and sat up more slowly this time. This wasn't  
happening. I attempted to tell her so, no matter how much it hurt. "No...  
We... ugh... were in the car together.. and--"  
  
"Shit!" I heard Madoka yell over her shoulder. "Do you hear those  
sirens? The cops were probably called and are on their way. If I remember  
correctly, both of us have records. I don't think we want to stick around to  
be processed." She grabbed me with strength I hadn't known her capable of  
and helped me onto the back seat of her motorcycle. "Now, hold on tight,"  
she told me as she revved up the engine. "We'll take my bike to the ABCB.   
That's the pub we met at three years ago, if you remember. We can hide out  
there for a while. Master's always been good about harboring me."  
  
With a quick flick of her wrist, Madoka's bike came to life,  
screaming as it barrelled down the street. "Dammit," Madoka whispered, "hold  
on, we're going to have to go through the cops." She popped a wheelie as we  
jumped onto the side walk and flew past the patrol cars blocking that end of  
Orange Road. We hit the sidewalk with wheels squealing. We passed by  
another set of patrol cars and various police officers yelled epithets at us  
as we passed, but all the cars were faced the opposite direction. They  
couldn't follow us without wasting enough time to allow us to get away.   
Which I guess we did anyway.  
  
It was a nice summer afternoon outside. A gentle breeze was blowing,  
though it felt much faster to me since I was whizzing by at over eighty  
kilometers per hour. It was a view of Orange Road I was used to, having a  
scooter of my own. Even then, the herbiemobile was small enough and low  
enough to the ground that the view was similiar even from it. I saw the  
lightning bugs hover off towards the tree, usually hard to see in the  
daytime. I was surprised there weren't more people out on such a beautiful  
day.  
  
Madoka didn't stop burning rubber until we were about thirty meters  
from the ABCB. "Go on inside," Madoka said as she took her brake hand off  
the brake and handed the store keys back to me without turning. When I held  
them tightly, she returned her hand to its original position and stopped the  
bike in front of the pub's door. "Wait for me in there, I have to go put the  
bike in back so the police won't recognize it." I nodded and slipped off the  
bike. Watching Madoka walk the bike around and out of sight, I walked up the  
stairs in front of the ABCB and turned the key in the door. It clicked and I  
went inside. The walls were oranger than I had remembered. Perhaps Master  
had repainted... No, that couldn't be, I had been in this very store hours  
earlier. Perhaps it was the lighting. Yeah, that was it. I took a seat as  
I pondered.  
  
I hadn't been sitting for more than moment when Madoka came in  
through the service door leading out from the alley and into the back room of  
the pub. I assumed she had hidden the bike in that alley. In her hands were  
two bundles. "Cots," she said suddenly, as if reading my thoughts. "I keep  
them here for when I'm trying to hide out." Setting the cots down near me,  
she walked into the back room and came out with a first aid kit under her  
arm. Blinking, it took me a second to recall I was injured. Of course, the  
thought eventually came to me that the first aid kit probably had something  
to do with why the ABCB was the chosen place to treat me.  
  
I suppose we had also come to the ABCB because the cops might go to  
the Ayukawa residence if they had the plate number of the motorcycle. But  
even then it was hard to believe they couldn't track Madoka to her workplace.   
Also, why had Madoka mentioned her record? She hadn't really done anything  
illegal in years. And I had no record to speak of. I had done some stupid  
things, but I never had been caught. This was really confusing. There had  
to be an explanation.  
  
Madoka sat down beside me and placed the first aid kit to her right.   
She opened it up and withdrew some supplies. Slowly she began treating the  
wound on my head. "Gah..." I exclaimed as she applied hydrogen peroxide to  
the center of the gash. "That really stung." She lightly chuckled at me,  
and then went on to wrap my head. By the time she was done I must have  
looked like some Arab Sheik or something. I was pretty certain I looked  
silly.  
  
"I wasn't sure if you were coming back," Madoka said at length.   
"You know, it's been almost three years since you... ah... saved me. I was  
wondering where that guy had gone. And now, here you are." Her eyes  
softened as they turned towards mine. I'm sure there was a moment of thrall,  
but to explain it would be beyond my means. Actually to be honest, any time  
I looked or thought about Madoka I was put in a thrall that was above words.   
I'm sure it's understandable.  
  
Finally, I returned myself to the present and blinked at Madoka. I  
rubbed what I could of my head and shook it a bit to clear what metaphorical  
cobwebs existed. Trust me, there were plenty. I was still feeling extremely  
jumbled. "I'm very confused," I eventually said. "You're not making any  
sense. Is it possible I have a concussion or something? Should we go to a  
hospital?" I continued rubbing. "God, my head hurts." My head felt like it  
had a jackhammer on it. I could feel my brain rattling with the intensity of  
the pain.  
  
Madoka leaned her chin on her palm for a moment before responding.   
"It's a pretty wide gash, but it isn't deep. I haven't seen any cognitive  
signs of concussion or impaired brain usage. However, I am no physician."   
She laughed. "I read a lot, and I know first aid, but that doesn't mean I'm  
the final word. So, I suppose we can't rule anything out." She put her  
entire fist under her chin in a Thinking Man gesture. "Let's see... What is  
it exactly that you think you don't understand?"  
  
"Well," I said thinking aloud, "you seem to be acting like I don't  
really know you. At least not that well. This can't be considering how  
we... uh.. are." I blushed. It's funny, Madoka had no trouble speaking to  
others about our relationship. I, however, usually locked up and anything I  
uttered would be incoherent. I left it unsaid and went on to my conclusion.   
"Therefore, something's obviously wrong with my perception." I assured  
myself that I would soon get a satisfactory explanation. I just wish I had  
been right.  
  
Madoka's smile faded and she looked at me with such concern, that I  
felt my soul tear. Something was definately wrong. My heart started pumping  
faster and adrenaline rushed throughout my body. I was ready for something.   
Something terrible. Her expression was so grave. "I see what you mean,"   
she said sadly, "I'm afraid that we only met briefly in 1988. You saved me  
from Yukari and her motorcycle gang. We've never even been friends, let  
alone anything more intimate." My heart stopped and it fell to my feet,  
sputtered, and died. I felt as if I'd be sick. "Maybe this is because I was  
the first one you saw after the crash. I don't know. But," her eyes held  
guilt, "I'm not who you think I am."  
  
The color fell from my face and followed the path of my heart as I  
realized where I was now. While attempting to leave 1982 after being sent  
back to the past, I accidently slipped into an alternate dimension. In that,  
er, this dimension I never existed. I was confused and scared, because I did  
not at first figure this out. Eventually, I ran into the Madoka of this  
world. I was running from the cops. I had teleported onto their vehicle,  
and caused a wreck. Madoka helped hide me inside this very same ABCB. I  
laughed. It was morbidly funny to think of more than one ABCB existing.   
Without me, Madoka hadn't changed from the delinquent she had become in ninth  
grade. She stayed on that track and made a name for herself with local  
gangs. She also quickly acquired a rap sheet with the Tokyo Police  
Department. The cops that not only "kept an eye" on her, but also were  
chasing me, turned out to be this universe's Komatsu and Hatta. Some how,  
without my presence, they actually graduated from High School early, and  
became patrol officers.  
  
I rocked back and forth, staring intently into the face of the woman  
who had only moments ago been my lover. My pupils dilated and suddenly I  
wasn't staring at anyone. My view was cut off even to me as I faced a long,  
wide void filled with nothing. I felt as though I was falling into a pit,  
but I didn't care. Perhaps I'd die when I landed, my broken body stretching  
out upon the ground. And-  
  
I was shaken with a large amount of force, and I returned to reality.   
"-okay? Hello? Oh shit, don't go into shock on me, please! Stay with me!   
Come on!" I blinked and the world focused once more. This woman was not my  
lover, but she was someone I had saved years prior. However, the woman that  
was my lover would be horribly distraught if I didn't return. This was not  
my universe, and I had no intention to stay. Madoka sighed as my view was  
once again completely focused on her, and I was responsive.  
  
I mentally shook myself. I could deal with this. I returned once.   
I could find my way back to my universe again. Smiling, I figured I ought to  
get on good terms with this... Ayukawa, I reminded myself. I didn't know her  
well enough to call her Madoka, as she had pointed out earlier. She was the  
closest thing to an ally I had here. I realized that it might take a while  
for me to get back to my universe. This wasn't a usual state of mind for me,  
but these were hardly usual times. Perhaps the accident had actually cleared  
a part of my mind. I may never know. I frowned as I looked at the woman in  
front of me. Yet, having Ayukawa on my side, especially this rough and tough  
version, was much to my advantage. I decided to formally introduce myself,  
as I recalled I hadn't done so before. "My name is Kasuga Kyosuke. I'm  
sorry I had the advantage over you, Ayukawa-san."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Kasuga, but drop the -san, it sounds too  
pretentious." She stood up. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like  
some?" She grabbed a yellow ABCB apron off a nearby chair.  
  
"Yes," I said, with genuine good cheer. I could definately use a  
good cup of tea.  
  
Madoka smiled at me. "All right, two cups of my special green tea  
coming up. Whenever I feel like the cherry blossoms are clogging my  
movements, I always have a cup of green tea from my Kyoto blend. The powder  
is made for the Kyoto tea ceremonies and is very expensive, but considering  
the circumstances, I think it's warranted." She walked around to the service  
side of the counter and pulled out the ingredients from the cupboards.  
  
I smiled in spite of myself. This was still an Ayukawa, even if she  
wasn't mine. I wasn't opposed to spending the night in the same room with  
her. Maybe I was being somewhat inappropriate, but such an unusual  
experience was a good excuse. I couldn't help checking Ayukawa out as she  
went around making the tea. Everything was still as it was on my Madoka...   
My Madoka. It sounded like I was comparing two cars of the same model.   
Which really wasn't all that bad an analogy. In fact, it was pretty apt.   
Especially for people who were real car fanatics. A car may look like  
another car of the same model, but their owners would swear up and down  
another model didn't have the same personality.  
  
Of course, watching this Ayukawa Madoka, I wasn't certain there was  
as big of a difference. Due to my presence in her life, Madoka had come to  
terms with who she was, and what she wanted to be. It appeared that this  
Madoka hadn't that option, and she was still getting into trouble with the  
law. However, it seemed the law never quite got to her. I wasn't sure if  
this was because of her physical prowess or her money. Unfortunately, it was  
probably the latter. Of course, one did not attack Ayukawa Madoka. While my  
Madoka had stopped beating people up nearly three years before, I had my  
doubts that the same applied to my hostess. I smiled at her as she finished  
making the tea.  
  
"You seem to be feeling better," Ayukawa said to me as she came up to  
the counter with the tea. I had taken my "usual" seat at the counter of the  
ABCB. Heh, even that was a joke. At least it was becoming funny to me.   
Kind of. "May I ask why?"  
  
She didn't play with softballs. I took a deep breath and considered  
how I could approach this. At least she already knew what I was capable of.   
That was an advantage over my Madoka, though she had always held suspicions  
even before she actually knew. "You already know about my... ahem,  
powers...." I started, and she nodded. I had saved her by transporting her  
attackers over the school pool. They were going to- I shivered  
involuntarily. The thought of Madoka -- any Madoka -- being raped was enough  
to ruin my good cheer. "Well," I continued, though my smile had vanished,  
"Then, what I say to you may not come as a surprise." I looked deep into her  
eyes and saw the increasing curiosity. "I'm from an alternate dimension.   
It would seem completely absurd, I'm sure, but you've seen what I've, uh,  
done..." I trailed off and looked down into my cup.  
  
"Kasuga..." was her reply as she sat down next to me at the counter  
and sipped at her own tea. After several moments of heavy silence, she  
looked up at me, though I could only see it out of the corner of my eye.   
"Then," she started suddenly, "You and I are... I mean... in the other... You  
know..." I looked up only to see her own face turn away from me quickly. I  
simply grunted in affirmation. "I can understand how you feel, but do not  
make the mistake of confusing her with me."  
  
Suddenly I was very angry. Angrier than I had been even before the  
crash. I growled. "Do you really 'understand'?" I heard myself say in a  
harsh voice, though I couldn't remember when I had actually directed myself  
to vocalize the thought. "I'm not even sure how I got back the first time...  
I mean, I know I fell off your motorcycle, but I can't force myself to fall.   
I've even tried that before. It was hard enough for me to- Oh, what do you  
really care? You're not the Ayukawa that loves me, that cares about me. If  
you were, you'd know that." I felt my teeth clench, what was I doing? Yet  
the words flowed freely, ignoring my persistant commands to stop. "I know I  
mean nothing to you, so don't patronize me with your 'understanding'."  
  
Her eyes narrowed and I could detect the barely restrained rage. I  
heard her swallow as her fingers clenched around the tea cup's handle.   
"You're wrong, Kasuga Kyosuke," she said in a low even voice. "Perhaps I do  
not love you, perhaps I cannot. I'm not your lover, and I do know that. I  
do, however, know that I care about you. You saved me from- well, probably  
saved my life, and therefore, I owe you a debt. I can't pay that debt if you  
won't take it. I understand you're upset, but that's no reason to take it  
out me." She drained the last of her tea in one quick motion. "Now, if  
you'll excuse me, I'm going to go outside and smoke." She stood up and  
walked out the door. The bell tinkled, taunting me. I had the urge to rip  
it off its screws and stomp on it. Though, really, it was me who deserved a  
good stomping.  
  
My idiocy pounded my head. How could I have let myself go off like  
that. Hadn't I told myself I needed her as an ally? Didn't I... Ugh. I was  
still mad at my Madoka. Even after all this, I couldn't let go of the anger.   
She had had no right to interfere in the financial problems of my family.   
And yet, she had. And yet, she was right. She was a part of my family.   
The most dearest part of it. I didn't like it, I didn't agree with it, but  
perhaps I could understand it. Even worse, I had taken it out on an  
innocent, simply because she was a convienent substitute. This could not  
stand. I had to set things right. I stood and went outside.  
  
I heard the door tinkle after me, and Ayukawa looked up, cigarette in  
a hand. "Y'know," I said casually, "if you keep smoking those things, you  
won't be able to have healthy babies." I chuckled lightly at my own in-joke,  
but I wasn't really feeling any better. I was never very good at lying to  
myself, no matter how hard I might try. I wasn't very good at lying to  
Madoka either, apparently. Any Madoka.  
  
"Really," said Ayukawa disinterestedly. "What gave you the  
impression that I didn't know... Or that I cared?" She took a large breath  
of smoke and puffed it back out directly in my face. Talk about bitter...  
  
My smile, which had been a farce anyway, was replaced by a deep  
frown. I had to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to explode at you.   
It wasn't really you I was yelling at. I-"  
  
"Oh?" she inquired in a tone that dripped contempt, "just who was it  
sitting at the counter with you?" I didn't answer immediately and she  
inhaled again. "Thought so," she said in a voice so hard it made me flinch.  
  
I looked away, unable to face her. "I had an argument with Madoka-  
My, uh, Modoka, and... She did something that I felt she shouldn't have  
and... I took it out on you. I apologize." What I didn't tell her was just  
how much more there was to the story. My pain and frustration at the current  
situation had joined any anger I still held against my Madoka. I don't know  
why I kept it to myself. Probably because I was afraid of her response. I  
forced myself to look into her eyes and I saw them turn softer though her  
features remained chisled flint. I let out a sigh of relief. The situation  
wasn't entirely fixed, but I knew she had forgiven me... This time.  
  
She flicked the cigarette to the concrete and ground it into the  
sidewalk with her shoe. "Apology accepted." She walked past me and walked  
up the stairs. The bell tinkled once more as I let her go. I'm not entirely  
sure how long I spent outside. Perhaps it wasn't safe for for me to do so,  
but it seemed that Ayukawa had an understanding with the police. Whatever it  
was, I supposed we would be safe as long as we stayed near the ABCB.   
Honestly, I didn't know. I didn't know where I was or how I would get back.   
Though, I figured that this world was near enough to my own that, if need be,  
I could survive.  
  
I shook my head. Surviving wasn't enough. I couldn't live in a  
world without Madoka. Frankly, it would be even worse here, where there was  
Ayukawa. She'd be a reminder of all that I lost. Day after day, second  
after second. I couldn't endure that. I let out a long, deep breath. I  
would have to go see Dad, and Grandfather if I could. I began to walk in  
that direction, but stopped. I turned back around and went slowly up the  
steps to the ABCB. Ayukawa should know, in case something important  
happened... In case she would worry.  
  
I wasn't kidding myself any better than I had the last time I tried  
to. It was really more because she deserved it. I hoped it would be some  
kind of tangible outcome of my apology. Besides, I needed her. This world  
wasn't mine, and I had already admitted she'd be a valuable ally. I was  
certain of this, and so it made sense to tell my ally where I would be. I  
climbed the steps and headed through the door. "Ayukawa," I mumbled as I  
approached her. She had taken the same counter chair I had been in before I  
went outside to apologize. As such, her back was to me. She turned around  
slowly, sensing my presence. "I'm going to go the my father's apartment. I  
wanted you to know where I was. I thought... I thought you deserved to  
know." I let out a breath while I turned around and headed towards the door  
when I felt a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"I'm going with you," Ayukawa insisted. I licked my lips. "I mean,  
you don't really know what to expect. Besides, I said I would help, and I  
meant it. If you'll have me, I'll go wherever you plan to go." Her hand  
returned to her side, and she came to stand closer to me. We walked out of  
the pub in silence. It was summer and though it was nearly nine o'clock the  
sun was just now setting, its form bleeding into the sky. Its warm rays  
shrouded the streets in a soft burning glow as we walked down the road  
towards the Stairs. I looked over my shoulder and Ayukawa came to my side.   
We reached we stopped midway up the flight, where the fiftieth step stretched  
out like a mesa. We looked out over the Tokyo landscape as the sun slowly  
set and the world faded. Without a word, we continued up the Stairs as the  
last bit of light escaped from view. I caught myself counting the steps as  
we reached the top. When we did, I stopped suddenly.  
  
"Everything all right?" Ayukawa asked over her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, fine, just... Nothing," I lied as I moved once more.  
  
We walked along the sidewalk. This entire area had beautiful gardens  
everywhere. The concrete was nice and white, not like the asphalt of other  
sections of the city. As usual, it didn't take us long to get to Green  
Castle, the apartment building where my family of this universe lived.   
Where my family had lived until Madoka had helped pay for the new house. I  
checked the mailbox and found that they indeed did still live here, though my  
name was conspicuously absent. I had, however, expected no different.   
"They're upstairs," I stated aloud for Ayukawa's benefit. "I believe my  
father should be home by now." She followed me to the elevator, and we  
waited while it ascended to the right floor.  
  
I walked up to the door which once again had my name absent, and  
Ayukawa followed at my heel. I swallowed and knocked politely. The door  
opened and my dark haired, glasses wearing sister, Manami stuck her head out.   
She was wearing her hair up in pigtails and had on a sweater and jeans.   
"May I help you?" she asked in a quiet voice.  
  
"Yes, can I speak to D-" I coughed. This girl's father was not my  
own, but it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of familiarity. "I  
mean, may I speak to Mr. Kasuga?"  
  
"Just a moment," she replied, shutting the door. A few seconds later  
my father opened the door.  
  
"Yes, young man?" he asked curiously. My father was a tall man with  
short black hair, glasses, and a mustache. This version of my father looked  
exactly the same. My mother was the true Power holder. My father had met  
her when he was out shooting pictures of wildlife near her home in the  
mountains. He had helped heal one of her birds, not knowing that it was  
"tame" and my mother had fallen for him as soon as she found out. Of course,  
my grandfather had been against the marriage, but really he was just being,  
well, a father. I could imagine my own father doing nothing less for Manami  
or Kurumi. Besides, my grandfather seemed to no longer hold any grudge  
against my father, for which I was quite glad. If he had, it would have made  
my task much harder.  
  
I took a deep breath. "I need to speak to you about the Power. I  
think it would be wise if I came in," I said, attempting not to sound too  
overbearing. This was still my father, and this was still his home.  
  
"Power? Are you with the electric company?" my father asked while  
scratching his head. He was a kind man, and he was good at his job, but  
geez, he could be dense.  
  
"No... I mean, the Power. Like..." I leaned in, whispering into his  
ear. "Moving stuff, teleporting, etc."  
  
He blinked and his expression turned very grave. "I don't know who  
you are, but perhaps you're right. You should come in. Mister...?" he asked  
as he opened the door to let Ayukawa and me in. His eyes flitted nervously  
to my sisters. They had a bad habit of letting the Power get out of control  
when they used it. When that happened and "normal" people found out, we had  
to pack up and move. It was how we came to be in Tokyo... And how I met  
Madoka. To everything there is a purpose. Besides, it wasn't really Manami  
so much, but Kurumi had been a wild child. It usually took my constant  
reminders to make her toe the line. Though, at seventeen, she certainly was  
getting better about it.  
  
"Kasuga. Kasuga Kyosuke," I replied, though I very nearly felt like  
I would throw up. I wasn't entirely sure why I was feeling the way I did.   
I was stressed, obviously, and this was a wonderful reason to be stressed,  
but this was something more. I refocused and calmed my stomach. "This is  
Ayukawa Madoka. My... friend." Ayukawa moved around me so that he could  
better see her. She smiled at him gently.  
  
My father nodded. "I understand better now that you've given me your  
name. Are you Akane's brother? I wasn't aware that she had siblings, but I  
haven't been in contact with her mother in quite a while, though Akane has  
stayed the night once or twice." We walked past the anteroom and into the  
main living area of the apartment. He gestured to for use to sit. I took  
the love seat and Ayukawa sat next to me. His featured begged me to answer.  
  
I shook my head in answer to his question. "No, I'm afraid not.   
I'm more directly related than that." He blinked at me, not understanding.   
Which wasn't surprising, to anyone else but Ayukawa and me, I certain wasn't  
going to make any sense. "You see, I'm a Kasuga family member from an  
alternate dimension. I was shunted here after a car accident." I saw the  
realization beginning to form in his eyes, but I finished for him. "I'm your  
son."  
  
"I see," he said, leaning back into his lazy chair. He steepled his  
hands under his chin. "I understand your want of help, but if you're truly  
who you say you are, then you must understand my reluctance. We have  
enemies, Kyosuke. *I* have enemies." He gazed at Manami. "While I'm not  
exactly the most paranoid of the clan's members, I am paranoid enough to  
wonder if you aren't a plant. You must prove to me you are who you say you  
are." His eyes bored into the back of my soul.  
  
I gulped involuntarily. I had always known my father had a core of  
steel despite his usual incompetence. He was far more devious than most  
people, myself included, would give him credit for. He may have been closer  
to his daily performance of inability when he first met my mother.   
Parenting probably changed that, even simply being with my mother had  
probably started him on the path to deadly competence. I know I had learned  
the same about the need to protect since meeting Madoka. Sometimes it  
shocked me, but I had long accepted that if it came to killing in order to  
protect her, I'd do it. My powers gave me more options than "normals" had,  
but they came with the risk of detection. My father had no powers, but I  
recognized the same urge to protect in him that I had recognized in myself.  
  
I felt a prickle at the back of my mind, and turned to face a very  
determined Manami. Most of the clan had telepathy, but very few could use  
it. I had only managed to use it once, and apparently on the wrong person.   
Manami was no better at language communication than I was, but her empathic  
abilities were amazing. She had learned long ago to be the bridge between  
members of our family and to diffuse otherwise... unpleasant situations.   
The prickle I had felt was her trying to get a read on me. We had natural  
blocks, but I forced them to fall. "Watching" someone else walking around in  
your head was very much unsettling, but my own Manami had done it more than  
once. Not that I enjoyed the experience. I didn't. j  
  
"He's telling the truth," Manami said, "Or at least, he believes he  
is. I haven't found any evidence of programming, but I can't be certain.   
Though, his mind has my imprint on it." j  
  
"Wouldn't that make you conclude that I am someone you've read  
before? Or, as I suggest, someone an alternate of you has read?" I asked.  
  
"Normally," she agreed, "however, a very high level telepath that  
could program you beyond my detection, could also manage to sucessfully fake  
my mental signature if he had access to it."  
  
"Fine," I agreed, "but could such a person also instill in me the  
Power?"  
  
Manami raised an eyebrow. "No."  
  
I nodded, for I already knew everything she had already said. Of  
course, the mental signature was real, and I was who I said I was, but at the  
moment, Ayukawa and I were the only two that knew that. The others were  
coming around, and my father looked far less paranoid, but they obviously  
weren't quite ready to give up.  
  
My father leaned forward. "Perhaps a demonstration might be in  
order." He scratched his chin. "No, that won't do it. Kasuga isn't the  
only clan that has powers. I wish it wasn't so, but it is. Demonstrations  
won't be enough... I need personal information."  
  
I blinked. "Personal information? What kind of personal  
information?"  
  
"The kind," he answered slowly, "that only true Kasuga clan members  
would know... Or, the kind only my son would know."  
  
"You didn't have a son."  
  
"True," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean I didn't plan for it to  
happen. I assume that your father followed through with the plans that I  
came up with."  
  
I was suddenly very nervous. "How can you be certain that such plans  
are multiuniversal? And even if they are, and I hate to point out something  
against my own claims, how do you know that your enemies haven't found a way  
to find out just such information?"  
  
"Manami would know if someone else had been in my head," he answered.   
"Indeed, that was as much of a reason for her presence as to sense you. If  
you were manipulating me.... But you're not, so I guess we don't actually  
have to worry about it." He pursed his lips. "I need to speak to my  
daughter. Please remain seated."  
  
Manami and my father walked into the small dark-room he used to  
develop the photographs from which he made his livelihood. I assumed they  
were deliberating on whether or not I was who I claimed to be. I hadn't  
given any personal information, but it seemed that perhaps I didn't need to.   
Though that seemed weird considering the lengths to which my father had gone  
to discuss the matter. Ayukawa stared at me, but I had very little to say.  
  
She had decided to come along, though I couldn't really see what role  
she could play. Perhaps she just wanted to be a sort of mental cheerleader.   
Besides, she had chosen to come on her own accord, and I wasn't willing to  
argue with her considering my outburst earlier. I just smiled at her with  
more confidence than I felt, though it increased when she returned the smile  
with one of her own. "I know," she said gently, "I'm pretty close to useless  
aren't I?"  
  
"Bah, you're an excellent source of external confidence," I said.   
My face turned bright and cheery and my voice was that of an announcer.   
"Ayukawa Madokas are a wonderful source of confidence, pick yours up at your  
local ABCB!"  
  
Ayukawa giggled at me. "Oh, stop it." She pointed a finger at me  
and waggled it. "If you've really spent as much time with me as you say you  
have, you must know I hate giggling. Makes me sound like school girl."  
  
"Must I remind you, Ayukawa-san, that you were a school girl not too  
long ago..." I said shaking my finger knowingly.  
  
"Oh," she said rolling her eyes, "How could I possibly forget?"  
  
"With me here?" I asked. "You can't."  
  
"Uhuh," she murmured as the door to the dark-room opened up.   
Ayukawa and I turned to face the pair.  
  
"We've chosen to believe you," my father said carefully. "Manami can  
find no deception, and I've seen no signs of it." He sat back down in his  
chair. "Unfortunately, as you're no doubt aware, I have no access to the  
Power. I can't help you, and I doubt Kurumi and Manami are strong enough to  
help you either. I don't have a clue as to what you think we can do." He  
sighed. "If what you say is true, and I've had enough experience to believe  
it is, you'll probably require a member of the clan who is very powerful."  
  
I nodded. "How about Grandfather or Grandmother?" One was very  
powerful, and the other had amazing control over her limited Power. I also  
had my doubts as to whether my sisters could help me. I had very little  
doubt as to whether my Grandfather could help. He would surely be able to  
help me. Surely. But I noted the expression on my father's face and my hope  
fell. This was an alternate universe, so who knew, perhaps he was dead...   
In which case I was stuck here.  
  
"Your grandfather and I never got along after your mother's death...   
He blamed me, I guess." His eyes floated off and he was no longer looking at  
us, but at something far, far away. "It seemed all right at first. I mean,  
there was tension, obviously. His daughter had died. Not his only, but that  
really doesn't matter. It went downhill after that. It started with  
important arguments, over money and the welfare of Kurumi and Manami..." He  
pinched the bridge of his nose. "It ended with your grandfather stalking off  
because his pork chop wasn't salty enough. That was two years ago.   
Occasionally, Manami and Kurumi will get cards, or they'll be invited to  
spend a weekend up at the Kasuga Clan retreat, but he's never been back."  
  
"I see," I said slowly. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared.   
It would take time to get to the retreat, but it was probable that my  
grandfather, alternate or not, would have the power to help send me back to  
my dimension. My grandfather once sent me back in time, and I had actually  
ended up here because of that. Eventually, I found my way back, though I  
felt my neck complain in the memory of being thrown off a motorcycle three  
years past. "I'll go to the retreat then. Once I explain who I am, I'm sure  
he'll help." I stood up and bowed politely. "Thank you, we'll make the  
plans. You've been very helpful."  
  
He bowed in response. "I'm glad I could be of service. I wish you  
good luck." He followed us to the door and opened it for us. Ayukawa and I  
had started down the hall when I heard him call to me. I glanced over my  
shoulder at him. "I'm sorry," he said taking a deep breath. "I lied,  
Kyosuke. I knew exactly who you were once I heard your name... I just  
couldn't take the chance you were lying... Besides, there's something  
else..." He trailed off and I looked at him expectantly.  
  
"Something else?" I repeated inquiringly.  
  
He sighed and shook his head. I could tell it must have taken a lot  
of effort but he finally managed to lock his eyes onto my own. "Your  
mother... You... You never made it through birth. I didn't want to open  
myself up to..." His words dropped. "Stranger things have happened since I  
became a part of the Kasuga Clan, and I'm sure you know that as well as I  
do... I don't like the idea of losing you again, when I haven't really met  
you."  
  
"Come with us," I heard myself say. "If you want to make amends, you  
should come with us."  
  
"No, I think not, I... I wouldn't want to ruin your chances of  
getting home." He bit his lip. "It's been nice knowing my son has become  
such a handsome man. If your mother was still alive, she'd be proud, I'm  
sure of it. Thank you for coming, Kyosuke, you've managed to change the  
past, if only for a little while. For that, I am truly grateful. When you  
return, tell your father that you care about him. He'll appreciate it." He  
smiled, though I could tell that it was pained. "Goodbye, Kyosuke."  
  
"Goodbye, Dad." I turned back around and began heading down the hall  
as I heard the door shut. Ayukawa followed me in silence. This certainly  
explained why I didn't exist in this world. We took the elevator down to the  
first floor of the Green Castle apartments and slipped out the glass doors.   
It was dark out, but a few street lamps lighted the way towards the Stairs.   
"What do we do now?" I asked Ayukawa. "Shall we go back to the ABCB? We  
can't leave until tomorrow."  
  
"Hmm...?" She nodded as we walked down the Stairs. "Yes, I guess  
so... That's what I set up the cots for."  
  
"Right," I said. "Off to the ABCB then. Say, Ayukawa, you were  
worried about 'our records' earlier? I seem to recall that you promised me  
you would behave yourself... For a certain someone, I think." I was  
surprised I had actually remembered such a thing, but the circumstances  
surrounding my last trip to this alternate world were beginning to come back  
to me. I faced her and smiled.  
  
"I've been keeping my promise for you, Kasuga," she said as she  
returned my smile. "Though, to be honest, the records I speak of are years  
old... And Officers Komatsu and Hatta have it out for me." She stopped at  
the bottom of the Stairs and I stopped with her. "I think they'll leave me  
alone now that I've 'reformed.' But, who knows, and besides, they didn't seem  
too fond of you last time you were here, did they?" She chuckled. "I  
wouldn't want to test fate."  
  
"I guess not..." I followed her gaze up into the heavens. She was  
leaning over a railing, peering up at the stars above us. "The stars are  
beautiful, aren't they? I could sit and stare at them for hours when I was  
younger. I still do it occasionally, especially when I go to the Kasuga Clan  
retreat. So far from Tokyo, it's much easier to see them. You know, almost  
forty percent of the so-called 'visible' stars are now invisible because  
of..." I noticed she had stopped looking at the stars and instead was  
looking very intently at me. "Ayukawa...?"  
  
I stared into her eyes... The thrall was there once more, and she  
felt it too. We were moving closer together. It took me a moment to realize  
that, and still we stumbled towards each other. Very slowly her neck  
stretched out and her face came up to meet mine. Our eyes continued to be  
locked on each other's, pulling us closer still. Our lips came within an  
inch before I turned my head, cutting off the kiss before it could happen.   
"This... is a mistake."  
  
She frowned. "Yes, I suppose it is... It's just that... Perhaps we  
should get going. We've wasted enough time." She quickly turned and headed  
towards Orange Road and the ABCB. I stuck my hands in the pockets of my  
windbreaker and followed her down the side walk. If there was anything to  
say about Orange Road, it didn't take very long to get anywhere I needed to  
go. The college, Madoka's house, Green Castle, and the ABCB were all near  
it, not the mention that the Stairs ran along it. In a way, it could be said  
that it was as much of a central place in my life as the Stairs. Of course,  
one could be merely an extension of the other. Indeed, I could never predict  
what could happen next. Perhaps, then, Orange Road was truly whimsical.  
  
The breeze that had been light earlier had picked up, and I heard the  
trees outside the ABCB rustle as Ayukawa unlocked the door. We walked inside  
and headed toward the cots. "Perhaps, I shouldn't tell you this," Ayukawa  
said suddenly as she sat down on the cot she had obviously chosen as hers and  
took off her shoes, "But you had quite an impact on me three years ago..."   
She swallowed audibly. "I wasn't honest when I implied I had no interest in  
you. I always wondered why you saved me... I know why now, but still,  
somehow my feelings of gratitude turned to feelings of another nature." She  
looked into my eyes. "The kiss would have been a mistake, I agree. I can't  
steal you, and certainly not for some three year old infatuation. You belong  
to her, not to me..."  
  
"Ayukawa..."  
  
"Kasuga, you don't need to say anything... As I said, I'm indebted  
to you, and as long as you need me, I'll be there for you... And, if you  
can't return... Then perhaps... Then, I'll still be here for you." She  
stretched out on the cot.  
  
"Ayukawa..." I could only say again as I followed suit. I had  
thought my problems were over when I broke up with Hikaru. And now, my  
problem wasn't limited to two girls who were both in love with me. Now I had  
two Ayukawas in love with me... I let out a breath. No, that wasn't fair.   
Infatuation and love were two very different things. Besides, I could not  
let myself be distracted. If there was a way to get back, and there had to  
be, I would. And yet, still, if I couldn't get home, this wasn't exactly a  
bad consolation prize. No, no, no, I shook my head, trying to shake loose  
the thought in the process. I couldn't think about that. And yet, I'd have  
to give up sometime... Sometime... Give up, Madoka? No... I mouthed the  
word as my eyes closed, and the water that had been hovering on their surface  
fell softly on my pillow...  
  
"Kasuga... Kasuga..." I blinked, my eyes blurry from sleeping...   
Or, perhaps, something else. I certainly didn't feel like a good night's  
rest had been achieved. I smelled coffee and the scent of freshly baked  
danishes. Ayukawa must have gotten up to make it. I was really grateful.   
"Ah, good, you're awake. I made some coffee and danishes, help youself."   
Ayukawa was already dressed and in her apron. "Could you put the cots away  
for me? I told Master that I had something important to do, so he'll be here  
soon to take over." She stood back up and put a cup of coffee and a plate  
with a danish on the counter. I sat up and stretched. I folded up the cots  
and took them into the back room. I had actually known that Ayukawa would  
store cots here, for Madoka had done the same thing in my universe. Of  
course, with a head wound, I hadn't really thought about it last night.  
  
I came out from the back room and walked over to the counter. I took  
the danish as I sat down in one of the bar chairs. I bit into it and took a  
sip of the coffee. "This is wonderful. Thanks." We would have to get going  
soon. Even while we could take a train to the base of the mountains, we'd  
still have to hike up several hundred feet to get to the retreat. Not that  
it was a particularly bad hike, in fact it could be fun. And with a gentle  
breeze still blowing, it wouldn't be bad at all. "We ought to get going  
soon," I said as I took another bite from the danish before me.  
  
"I know, but we have to wait for-"  
  
The door tinkled and Master walked through. "Ah, Madoka, thank you  
for opening up the place for me... I see, so this is the young man you were  
telling me about."  
  
"I'm Kasuga Kyosuke." I stood and bowed. I knew this wasn't the  
Master that had been such an influence on me over the past few years. Yet it  
was hard to think of Master in any other context, and I was genuinely warmed  
to have even an alternate version of him present.  
  
"No need to be so formal, Kasuga. I hear from Madoka that we've  
already met." He winked at me. I gawked and turned back to Ayukawa behind  
the counter and mouthed 'You told him?' "Of course she told me," Master said  
and my head whipped back around to him. I thought *I* was the one with  
paranormal powers. "I'm not psychic, Kasuga, if that's what you're thinking.   
I saw you mouth the words in the metal of one of the coffee machines behind  
the counter."  
  
"Oh." Master was certainly observant, though, really, hadn't I  
already known that? This universe was looking to be a lot more like my own  
than I had originally imagined. Perhaps my presence in my own universe meant  
less than I had really thought. Sure, there were differences (most notably  
Komatsu and Hatta), but largly, the people that had touched me were very much  
the same. But, if there was one person I was worried about, it was  
Ayukawa... Despite her assurances, I knew that the situation would be  
awkward. We felt too much for each other. Perhaps my own attraction was  
just because of her counterpart, and perhaps hers was an infatuation that  
should have died, but it was there, and even if it would be a mistake to  
pursue it, we couldn't deny it existed.  
  
Ayukawa took off her apron and hung it up while Master put on his  
own. "Ok, let's be off to the train station, shall we, Kasuga?"  
  
"Right," I agreed as I followed her out the back door. "So we'll be  
taking your motorcycle to the station?"  
  
"Yep," Ayukawa answered, handing me a helmet before putting on her  
own. She slid her leg around the seat and revved up the engine. "Last time  
I was afraid... when you fell off, I mean. So, I bought an extra, in case  
I'd be giving anyone else a lift. If I had known I'd have been picking you  
up yesterday, I'd have taken it with me, but, well, I didn't."  
  
"Of course," I said, putting on the helmet and getting on the back of  
the motorcycle. "Let's go!" Ayukawa flicked her wrist in her usual way and  
the motocycle belted out of the alley and out onto Orange Road. She gunned  
it for a few moments and we coasted down the hill. The station wouldn't be  
too far. Though, actually, we'd have to first go to the subway and then  
switch to the trains when we got to Central Station. It wasn't efficient,  
but it was the only way.  
  
I wasn't entirely fond of motorcycles. I liked my scooter, but that  
had a completely different feel to it. I had a license for all three of the  
vehicles Madoka and I usually used, but of them all, I prefered the  
herbiemobile. For the protection and stability if nothing else. The  
herbiemobile was small, but it was made of steel. It was like being  
surrounded by girders. Sure, it'd get smashed up in a crash, but the  
occupants would generally survive better than occupants of newer cars.   
Still, even my scooter was better than Madoka's motorcycle. It was easier to  
stop, for one thing, and it was lighter, so there was less of a chance of  
being crushed under it.  
  
Of course, then again, the last time I had rode on this cycle for an  
extended amount of time, I had fallen off. This fact didn't make me all that  
pleased with riding on the machine. Still, Ayukawa, or at least my Madoka,  
was an expert rider. Ayukawa seemed to be as well.  
  
"Couldn't we have taken the herbiemobile?" I asked, yelling over the  
wind as we rushed through it.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"The european car of yours," I clarified, "You know, the one that  
looks like it drove right out of Herbie Comes to Japan?"  
  
"Oh," she answered, "My sister has it for awhile. She took it up to  
Hokkaido on a skiing trip."  
  
"In the summer?" Absurd, skiing in the summer, how could you  
even do that? "Isn't a bit hot for that?"  
  
The helmet in front of me shook despite the fact that Ayukawa was  
looking ahead and not at me. "The mountains are high enough that you can ski  
year round."  
  
"Oh," I said. I hadn't realized the mountains were quite that high.   
Evidently they were. Madoka and I had gone skiing a few times over the  
years. Rarely were the trips pleasant. The first time we went skiing  
together we ended up trapped in a skilift for hours. I tried to use my  
powers, but I only made things worse by shattering the windows and allowing  
the cold air to flow in. If it hadn't been for Kazuya, we would have  
probably frozen to death. The last time we went skiing we almost died at the  
hands of a very angry ghost. Yes, ghost. Though Madoka and I never speak of  
it, it was one of the weirder incidents in our courtship. And, for once, it  
had nothing to do with the Power.  
  
The motorcycle hummed to a stop as Ayukawa put on the break. We were  
at an intersection further into Tokyo. I recognized the building where  
Madoka and I had gone for cram school to prepare for the college examination.   
It was a tall glass skyscraper. I had seen pictures of schools from other  
countries, and it seemed to me that Japan was the only nation that housed  
schools in buildings forty stories high. While I respect the results of the  
Japanese educational establishment, I had my doubts as to whether it actually  
produced better people. Oh, perhaps it produced better members of an office  
team, but that isn't exactly the same as making better people.  
  
We were nearing the station and Ayukawa slowed and stopped to get her  
parking ticket from the gate. It opened up and the motorycle sped down one  
of the many delta roads that eventually came back together to form a normal  
four lane street. "Where are you going to park it?"  
  
"Not far from the station entrance," she yelled back. "Great thing  
about motorcycles, their designated parking spots are towards the front."   
The road took a sudden drop and the motorcycle flew several feet before  
bouncing on the asphalt. I all but had a heart attack. "Sorry about that,"  
Ayukawa said apologetically, as if reading my mind.  
  
We pulled into a covered garage right across from the main entrance,  
and Ayukawa parked the motorcycle in the thin area marked for two-wheeled  
vehicles. She knocked the kickstand upright and hopped off the cycle. In  
contrast, I gently dismounted and handed her my helmet. She locked it in the  
small helmet case on the rear of the bike and grabbed the travel bags that  
were attached to the sides. She tossed one to me and we crossed the white  
striped street to the entrance of the Tokyo Central Station.  
  
Ayukawa and I walked out of the humidity and into freezing air  
conditioning as we entered the building. With a quick gaze off to the right,  
she turned on a heel. "'Tickets sold this way'," she quoted in explanation.   
I simply nodded and followed. "So, how far north are we going?"  
  
"Sansei," I answered. "The mountains above Sansei are where my  
grandparents' retreat is located." It was a traditional Japanese country  
home, one floor but widely laid out. There were many rooms, including a fire  
room, where the family would gather around the flames, what might be termed  
as a kitchen, and plenty of rooms to spare. It was sparsely furnished, but  
that too was traditional. Besides, with so much to do around the retreat,  
there was very little need to spend more time in the rooms than it took to  
sleep.  
  
"Two for Sansei," I heard Ayukawa say in front of me. "Uhm, yes,"  
she answered, "that'll be for the bullet train." She nodded at the teller  
and turned to me. "They have a nonstop to Sansei, believe it or not. Seems  
a popular destination because of the humidity. It's more expensive, but..."  
she shrugged and handed me one of the tickets. "If we're going to be  
traveling by train for three hours, we might as well try to maximize  
efficiency."  
  
"Uhm, ok." I knew that the ticket in my hand had to be far more than  
I could just casually afford, but it was wise of me to not say anything.   
Ayukawa Madoka was likely the wealthiest person I had ever met. Not that it  
had anything to do with my love for her. Still, sometimes it amazed me.   
Her house was huge by Japanese standards, and even then a huge house in Tokyo  
was rare. Even rarer, the house was hers in a very real sense. Being famous  
violinists for the New York Philharmonic, her parents were never home. Her  
father had once conducted, but prefered to play. I had heard stories from  
Madoka that her father liked antique knicknacks, and that their two story New  
York apartment was decked out in them.  
  
I chuckled at that. Then there was her sister, and as I gazed at  
Ayukawa I could see why they were often mistaken for each other. They looked  
almost exactly the same, but Ayukawa Misako had dark brown hair that mirrored  
her father's American ancestry, while Madoka's hair was raven black. Misako  
had moved out a few years ago after her wedding. So, Madoka had the huge  
house all to herself. Although, I spent enough time there that it could  
really have been termed our house. There was very little to my apartment but  
a bed, and not a very large one. I may have slept there, but I certainly  
didn't live there.  
  
The train pulled up as Ayukawa and I stepped out onto the platform.   
A conductor punched our tickets as we boarded. He pointed out where we would  
find our cabin, but also was very enthusiastic about pointing out the dining  
car. There didn't seem to be any assigned seating, so Ayukawa plopped down  
in a nice booth with a table in between. "There's lunch," she said, "so I  
thought that we might grab a table." I looked at my watch and noticed it was  
nearly one o'clock. Perhaps a slightly late lunch, but then, we did have a  
large breakfast not three hours before... And, by the looks of the menu  
Ayukawa handed me, there were some excellent eats to be had.  
  
"I'm thinking the steak," I said. "It looks very good, and it comes  
with a baked potato." I idly checked the wines out of curiosity and  
considered the wallet in my back pocket. Ayukawa paid for the tickets; the  
least I could do is pay for some wine. I could afford something that wasn't  
too expensive. The name Anapamu caught my eye and the price wasn't bad. I  
could handle eighteen hundred yen. "Would you like some wine?"  
  
"That sounds lovely," Ayukawa answered. "You don't seem like much of  
a drinker." A waiter came by and checked our tickets. "Two steaks," Ayukawa  
said quickly as the waiter pulled out his notepad. "With baked potatoes."  
  
"And how would you like those cooked?"  
  
I immediately said, "Medium for myself, and," I looked at Ayukawa,  
"medium rare?" Ayukawa nodded.  
  
"Very good. Something to drink, ma'am, sir?" the waiter asked  
looking first at me and then Ayukawa.  
  
"Yes, a bottle of Anapamu 1989 Syrah," I answered.  
  
The waiter nodded. "Excellent choice, sir." The waiter disappeared  
through a door at the end of the car. Other waiters scurried about to attend  
to the needs of the other passengers that had paid for VIP tickets. Though  
there weren't many other passengers present, the light buzz of conversation  
filled the car. I returned to my own conversation with Ayukawa.  
  
"In answer to your question," I said, "no, I'm not much of a drinker.   
I didn't really drink much until I met..." I looked around, this was not the  
place to be admitting I was some kind of universe crossing ESPer. "...her,"  
I finished. Ayukawa's eyes flashed and she nodded. "I'm not sure how much  
you drink, but she often drinks much more than I really think is healthy."  
  
"I stopped drinking heavily after our first meeting," Ayukawa  
admitted. "It seemed too much a part of the bad-girl image I was running  
from after my promise to you." She waved a hand in the air. "Oh, of course  
I still drink on and off, but it usually means I'm either happy enough to  
celebrate or sad enough to mourn." She smiled. "Usually it's more the  
former than it is the latter nowadays." Her stomach growled and she rolled  
her eyes. "Maybe we should have ordered the bread sticks."  
  
"I wish I had such an impact on her when it comes to drinking," I  
said nibbling at my lip. "You seemed to realize pretty quickly that being a  
delinquent really wasn't you. It took her quite a bit more time. And, I'm  
sad to say, sometimes she still does things I'm not fond of- like the  
drinking."  
  
Ayukawa chuckled. "More proof we aren't the same?"  
  
I looked at her inquisitively. "Exactly what do you mean by that?"  
  
The waiter slipped a silver holder between the two of us. I nodded  
at him and he poured our glasses half full of the dark red liquid. The man  
sat the wine bottle into the holder. The ice rustled softly as it settled  
under the weight of the bottle. "I shall return shortly with your meals.   
Excuse me." He took one more moment to place sets of silverware down in  
front of us, each wrapped in a napkin, and walked off towards the door that I  
assumed to belong to the kitchen.  
  
"What did you mean about 'proof we're not the same?'" I inquired, my  
head tilting slightly.  
  
Ayukawa smiled, but it was a sad smile. "I just meant, she and I...  
we're different."  
  
I blinked. "Of course you are, I mean, you'd have to be, especially  
if I'm completely foriegn to this uni- uh..." Oops, there I went again.  
"...this place."  
  
"Yes, but, ah..." Ayukawa burbled as she toyed with her wine. I was  
going to prompt her further when the waiter returned with our meals. I was  
definately impressed with the service. Ayukawa and I couldn't have been  
talking for more than a few moments since we got the wine. Ah, well, I  
shouldn't have expected any different with such an expensive train ride.  
  
He laid the steaks out first, and then put the baked potatoes on the  
side, since they were on their own plates, accompanied by small portions of  
sour cream, onions, butter, and even bacon bits. I spread the portions all  
over my potato and poured some steak sauce on the t-bone in front of me. "I'm  
surprised, you'd think we'd get sa-" The waiter laid down two small salads  
to the side, and then a thing of bread. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I  
just laughed nervously.  
  
"Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?"  
  
"Uhm, ah, not at the moment," I answered, still feeling the fool.   
I'd leave a good tip. "Thank you, ah... Kensuke."  
  
He nodded at the use of the name, which I had only gathered from the  
name tag on his right breast pocket. "Very good, sir." He bowed slightly,  
and walked off to talk to some other guests who had just entered. I dug into  
the steak right away; it wasn't best steak I had ever eaten, but it was good  
nevertheless. I didn't like the potato quite as much, but the steak more  
than made up for it. I was happy that Ayukawa also seemed to be enjoying the  
meal. True, it wasn't quite what I had planned for when I said I wanted  
lunch; it was more like a dinner. Still, it was a fair train ride, and the  
meal was definately hitting the spot.  
  
"How did we meet?" Ayukawa said suddenly. I blinked at her. "I  
mean, in the other..."  
  
"Ah," I said, taking a quick bite of bread and swallowing it almost  
without chewing. "We met on the Stairs running along Orange Road. I was new  
to our current area of suburban Tokyo, and I was counting the number of  
stairs it had. It's a hobby of mine, you know? Counting steps."  
  
She giggled. "And...?"  
  
I scratched my chin, feigning thought. I knew our first meeting by  
heart. Every word. Every detail. Every scent in the summer air. How could  
I have not? "Well, you had lost your red straw hat, since there was a pretty  
strong breeze. As it came by, I jumped up. I caught and you said 'Nice  
Catch.'" Actually, it sounded more like "Niceu Catchu" as I recall. Her  
Japanese accent had been stronger then when she pronounced English. "I  
proceeded to finish counting the steps and determined there to be one  
hundred. And you said-"  
  
"There are only ninety-nine steps," she finished for me.  
  
My jaw dropped and I stared at her. "How did you... I.."  
  
She laughed again. "Kasuga, I myself have been bored enough to count  
those steps. Trust me, there are ninety-nine."  
  
"Uh huh. You're ganging up on me now," I accused with a smile on my  
face. "Anyways, so I argued that no, there were in fact one hundred steps.   
You of course disagreed, and I tried to make peace by claiming that we must  
both be wrong. There were only ninety-nine and a HALF steps. You, of  
course, thought that was hilarious."  
  
She nodded. "I do think it's rather funny."  
  
"Well, I offered you your hat back," I continued, "but you thought it  
looked better on me, so I should keep it. I did, and I still have it.   
Well, it's in my apartment anyway."  
  
"You sound very sentimental. So, did the relationship progress very  
quickly after that?" She took a bite of salad and a sip of wine.  
  
I sighed and took a sip of my own wine. "No, unfortunately not  
because of another girl named Hikaru who took a liking to me. I was pretty  
indecisive and I couldn't tell her no. I found out later that she knew I  
loved you, but she really believed she could change me by her constant  
presence. Eventually the stumbling trio caused all of us too much pain, and  
I broke it off with Hikaru in order to be with you. She...." I took a deep  
breath, "She didn't take it very well. She's doing better now, I think."  
  
Ayukawa blinked at us and scrunched her face in thought. "You  
couldn't mean Hiyama Hikaru, could you?"  
  
Crap. I had forgotten that when I first teleported into this  
dimension I had met the alternate Hikaru and Yusakuu. In fact, Yusakuu tried  
to kill me. It wasn't a memory I relished remembering. "Yes, Hiyama Hikaru.   
You were friends... I guess you are."  
  
"We were," Ayukawa answered very darkly. "She followed in my  
footsteps, and Yusakuu followed her. However, she never gave up the life of  
delinquent.... Yukari had her beaten severely in order to flush me out."  
  
I nodded. "Something similiar happened to my Hikaru, but I think I  
can tell that this situation turned out worse."  
  
"Yes," Ayukawa confirmed, "much worse. Even though I rushed her to  
the hospital as soon as I could, the internal bleeding was too much for her  
to handle. She died on the operating table..." Ayukawa closed her eyes in  
pain. "Yusakuu still won't talk to me. He thinks it was my fault.... In a  
way I suppose it was."  
  
"Oh," I said quietly. "Oh! Hikaru's letter!"  
  
Ayukawa blinked at me. "What letter?"  
  
"Hikaru moved to New York after graduating from high school. She's  
become an actress. She sent me a letter, but I must have left it in my  
apartment." I frowned. "I haven't read it yet. To be honest, I don't want  
to. I mentioned she was doing better, but I don't know how truthful that  
really is. I'm afraid of what I might read." In fact, I knew it to be that  
Hikaru had not stopped loving me, for I had spoken to her scant weeks ago in  
the future. Future, past, alternate dimensions. Being an ESPer was often far  
more complicated than it was worth.  
  
"Oh. I see." She ate in silence for a few minutes. When she noticed  
my intent stare she looked up. "I'm sorry," she said, dabbing the corners of  
her mouth with her napkin, "it's just that... I was never close to my sister.   
She was never into the same things and was too old to want to play with me  
anyway." She bit her lip. "When I met Hikaru, she needed me for everything  
I felt I needed in my own older sister. Since I could not get that from her,  
I decided to become my own ideal older sister to Hikaru. In the end I failed  
in that. I couldn't protect her."  
  
"I admit, I never understood the relationship between you," I said  
and knew I was being honest. I never had. It was obvious throughout my  
school years that if it hadn't been for their relationship, it would have  
been quite a bit easier for one to push the other out of my life. Knowing  
Madoka, the situation probably would have ended in the same outcome. Still,  
Hikaru was so... spoiled. And yet, as I thought about it, that was probably  
also because of Madoka's presence in her life. Madoka usually gave in.   
Madoka gave with a selfless love that taught Hikaru that it was acceptable to  
take advantage of her, and by extension acceptable to take advantage of  
others as well.  
  
True, Hikaru had seemed to have moved past this aspect of her  
personality in 1994. I was nice to consider a future where Hikaru had moved  
on with her life and that the bond between her and Madoka has been  
reestablished. A future where I wasn't in the way of that bond. This would  
be a future where we were happy. I frowned. This would be a future that  
Ayukawa would not have access to. "Regardless," I said after a few moments,  
"you shouldn't blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done at that  
moment."  
  
Ayukawa set down her fork. "No. Nothing in that moment, but plenty  
of things could have been done in the infinity of moments before that. I had  
two years, Kasuga. Two years from the time you came to when she paid the  
ultimate price for my previous sins. I could have changed her. I could have  
kept her from harm. I didn't... Didn't think I was strong enough..." Her  
tears started but she quickly swiped at her eyes. We finished our meal in  
silence.  
  
While Ayukawa took care of the bill for the meals, I insisted upon  
springing for the wine and the tip. She didn't seemed pleased by it, but I  
absolutely insisted. Yes, I was stereotypical. I still am. It bothers me  
to have a woman pay for everything, to support me, and I won't allow Madoka  
to do it even now. I certainly wouldn't then. Sexest? Maybe, but at least  
I'm honest. Kensuke thanked us as we handed over the money, including the  
rather large tip, and pointed us down the proper way to our cabin.  
  
We found it fairly easily and slipped in. Even though I had slept,  
I doubted it had been much of a good rest. I locked the cabin door, posted  
our tickets so the conductor would know when he was to disturb us. The cabin  
wasn't extremely spacious, but it did have one side for sitting and another  
with two fold down beds for sleeping and a small bathroom on one side. It  
reminded me quite a bit of my small apartment back at Green Castle. Ayukawa  
pulled down one of the beds and immediately crashed on to it. We had close  
to two hours to kill and it wasn't a bad idea to take a nap. I pulled down  
the other bed and climbed into it.  
  
I jolted awake as there came a loud rapping at the door. I sat up  
and nearly smashed my head against the ceiling of the train. Ayukawa was  
already up and she answered the door. A large man in a conductor's uniform,  
but not the same as the man who had earlier punched our tickets, stood  
outside the door. "We'll be reaching Sansei in ten minutes," he said in a  
deep voice before starting to turn around and amble off.  
  
"Uhm, thank you," I shouted.  
  
"You're welcome," he said from around the corridor when I could no  
longer see him. I climbed down from the fold out bed, adjusted what I was  
wearing, folded up the bed, and headed to the bathroom. Taking my travel bag  
from where I had tossed it, I pulled out my toothbrush, toothpaste, and a  
comb. I had only been sleeping for a few hours, yes, but my breath had to  
have been horrible. I could already tell from the small mirror that my hair  
was wildly attempting to go in several directions at once. I brushed my  
teeth and combed my hair, and then offered the bathroom to Ayukawa, who  
certainly didn't appear to need to use it.  
  
"I already took care of it before you woke," she said by way of  
explanation. I really wasn't all that surprised, Madoka was usually faster  
than me on that account, despite being female. It would sound like bragging  
to say that she didn't exactly have to spend any time to "put on her face"  
considering how beautiful she already was. Okay, so, it would be bragging.   
Doesn't change the fact it's true. "Anyways, shall we make our way out the  
middle car, Kasuga?"  
  
"Er," I gurgled as I grabbed my travel bag and tossed everything back  
into it. Thinking about how beautiful Madoka was at this moment might not  
have been the best thing to do. "Indeed," I said simply, answering her own  
formal tone. She cocked her head at me in a bemused experess and we headed  
out of the cabin and towards the middle cabin where we had entered. We met  
the same conductor that we had spoken to earlier in the day. The train  
slowed to a stop after an announcement about the next station was made. We  
handed our tickets to the conductor where he punched them again and handed  
them back mentioning how we'd need them for the return trip when we decided  
what time we were returning. I didn't tell him I wasn't planning on using  
the return trip.  
  
The doors wooshed open, and we hurriedly exited the car before we  
were trampled by all the people who had suddenly showed up behind us at the  
last minute. The air was definitely cooler here, since we had gone steadly  
uphill the entire way. We would still actually have to hike up the mountain  
to the retreat by foot. There was no vehicle that could use the mountain  
paths besides regular mountain bikes, and we sorely lacked those. True, my  
grandparents had more than one, but they were located at the retreat. Not  
exactly useful at the base of the mountain.  
  
I readjusted the traveling bag on my shoulder and waited for the  
train to depart before we crossed the tracks. The mountain was on the other  
side, and I soon found the trail Ayukawa and I need to take. It wouldn't  
take an extremely long time to get up the mountain, and both of us were in  
fair condition. I had made the hike many times, and Ayukawa had done it  
three times at least... No, scratch that. Madoka had. I slowed down so  
that it would be easier for Ayukawa to follow behind me. She caught back up  
in very little time and kept pace with me.  
  
Mid-summer as it was, the elevation was so high that it seemed like a  
nice spring day. The blossoms had long ago given way to fruit and leaves,  
but the scene was still very picturesque, and we certainly weren't dying of  
heat. The path curved in and around the trees, rocks, and other small houses  
and shrines. Some were owned by my grandparents, some owned by others, and a  
few I knew to have been abandoned. I recalled somewhere that in my universe,  
my Grandfather had tried to get the courts to give the land to him under an  
abandonment law. I couldn't recall the outcome of the claim.  
  
After what felt like an infinity of turns, we pushed through the  
underbrush and found the fence that ran around the retreat. We were almost  
there. I opened the fence door, and I let Ayukawa go first as it creaked.   
It slammed shut behind me when I was through it. We then continued up the  
trail until the house was in view. I frowned. Usually Grandfather did  
something infinitely stupid like teleporting from the house to greet us. He  
was consipicously absent, and that worried me.  
  
Eventually we reached the front door and I knocked loudly. The door  
unlocked and creeped open, but no one was there. I made a guess that it had  
been opened with the Power, and I started inside, with Ayukawa on my heel.   
I walked the well-known and well-worn hallways of the house, tossing my shoes  
into their appropriate alcove by long practice. Ayukawa followed my lead and  
took off her own shoes, placing them alongside my own. I continued down the  
hallway towards the main fire room of the large manse.  
  
I came to it and found my grandfather asleep by the fire, my  
grandmother floating over him. And I mean that in the strictly literal  
sense. She was truly floating above his futon. She looked up at me and my  
companion. "Ah, Kyosuke, we've been expecting you." I blinked. I didn't  
exactly expect this, but then, perhaps maybe I should have. My grandmother  
was an interesting woman. She too had the Power. I never really managed to  
figure out why. I knew a lot about the clan, but the source of my  
grandmother's Power was a mystery. I knew there were other clans with  
control of the Power, and so I had always assumed she was a member of another  
clan. I didn't really know, and it wasn't my place to ask.  
  
"You did?" I asked.  
  
"Yes, but we're not sure we can help you," Grandmother said slowly.   
"I'm not very powerful, and Grandfather is very sick. When he wakes, I'll  
let you speak to him. He may have answers for you." She looked at me sadly  
and announced, "I'm afraid I simply do not." She floated over to a teapot in  
the corner that flew up to meet her half way. She caught it deftly and  
poured it into three tea cups that were likewise hanging suspended in the  
air. Grandmother wasn't as powerful as even my sisters, but she had many  
years of control, and it appeared she could do much more than the majority of  
the Kasuga Clan. When she had finished pouring the tea, two of the cups  
floated toward Ayukawa and me. I slowly took control of the cup intended for  
Ayukawa as well as my own, since I knew she would not be able to catch it  
herself. When I had grasped them both, I handed one over.  
  
"Careful," I warned Ayukawa in low tones, "she may assume you have  
more skill dealing with the application of the Power than you actually do.   
I'll go ahead and 'grab' anything that floats your way."  
  
Grandmother clucked her tongue as she settled back onto a cushion  
placed on the floor. "Ayukawa-san is more nimble than you are, Kyosuke, I  
wouldn't count her out. Besides, she will need to get used to the  
application of the Power."  
  
I bit my lip. Grandmother was obviously telepathic, which is why she  
had noted to expect me, as well as my name, and yet she must have thought  
that Ayukawa was the Madoka in my mind. I decided to inform her otherwise.   
"Grandmother, as you can read my mind you must know that I am alone here.   
Ayukawa is not my love. She is of this universe, and she is not coming with  
me."  
  
"She loves you," Grandmother said simply. "You must understand my  
confusion."  
  
I shook my head. "I saved her life, what you sense is a deep caring,  
not love."  
  
Ayukawa licked her own lips. "I owe Kasuga more than a lifedebt, and  
I always will. There is no way for me to repay what he has done for me.   
How could I not love him? It's just not a romantic love, even I know that.   
I made that mistake once. I tested it, and it failed to stand up to that  
standard."  
  
Grandmother seemed unconvinced, but waved it off. "Whatever you  
say." She appeared to want to say more but her attention suddenly shifted as  
Grandfather started to move. She instantly hovered back up and over to the  
spot she had held when Ayukawa and I had first entered the fire room. I  
moved over almost as fast, though I wasn't hovering. I could do it, yes, but  
I'd never been very good at it, and besides, I didn't need to do it now.   
Ayukawa shifted over in order to follow me. Grandfather's eyes opened and  
when they had finished blinking away the blur of sleep, they focused upon me.  
  
"Ah," he said in his high pitched craggy voice, "Kyosuke, you have  
finally come." He coughed. "I have so much to ask you, but... Not enough  
time to find out about all of it. I know you need to get home, but there's  
something you have to understand..."  
  
"What, Grandfather?" I asked. I sounded like a little kid, but I  
didn't much care. I need to get home, and this was the only man in the  
universe I knew how could do it.  
  
"No, no," he said after coughing once more, "Not yet. Tell me, boy,  
how is your mother? I long so to see her again..." He shifted under his  
covers.  
  
I frowned. "There is no difference, Grandfather. She passed away in  
my universe as well." I wasn't really pleased to be the one delivering the  
news. If this version of my grandfather was a bit less sane than my own, as  
his reactions to my father in this universe suggested, I might come to regret  
my forthrightness. He may no longer have been willing to help me. I was  
luckily quite mistaken. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring you better news. "  
  
Grandfather let out a breath. "I understand, Kyosuke. I suspected  
as much. You cannot fight fate. Yet I had hoped against hope. Your  
presence here had signaled something had changed in your universe. I hoped  
that more than just your birth had changed." He rolled over while he coughed  
again and then rolled back. "Not to say that I'm displeased to see that you  
survived. It's a nice change of pace. I don't usually get to meet alternate  
grandsons."  
  
I didn't really want to interrupt him, but I wasn't here to have a  
conversation about the states of our respective families. I wanted to get  
home. I had already spent nearly two days here, I didn't plan on spending  
any more than was absolutely necessary. I would have to bite the bullet and  
tell him this. "Grandfather, please forgive me if I seem rude, but I really  
need to be able to get home as soon as possible. I have some people at home  
that I'm sure really miss me, and I really miss them. I would appreciate it  
if you could help me get back. You're the only one who can help me get  
back."  
  
Grandfather shook his head at me. "As I was trying to tell you  
before, I cannot help you. I do not have the power to help you. I cannot  
send you back. I'm sorry, you'll have to do it yourself." He closed his  
eyes, and I thought he had just dismissed me. This couldn't be possible.   
He had to be able to help me. He was the only who could... He was the one  
who got me here back in 1988, he could certainly return me now! It wasn't  
fair.  
  
"How can you say that!" I objected. "You're the only one who can do  
it. My own grandfather caused me to appear here before, certainly you can  
send me back! You have to be able to... I can't stay here, I just can't.   
It's too much to ask... Please tell me there's something you can do."  
  
"No, Kyosuke, I don't think you understand," my grandfather grumbled  
softly, "I cannot. I cannot send you back without your permission. It's  
you."  
  
I blinked. This was insanity. He had my permission. Hell, I was  
begging for him to send me home, and he said he couldn't do it without my  
permission? Was the old man mad? This was obviously going to be far more  
difficult than I thought. "No," I said after a deep breath, "I don't  
understand. Why is it up to me?"  
  
My grandfather coughed and spit into a hankerchief he produced from  
under his covers. "Because, Kyosuke, you are here at your own request. It  
is your own control of the Power that led you here, and not just because you  
fell down a flight of stairs. You delivered yourself here, now you must  
deliver yourself home."  
  
"But.. I was in a car accident, I didn't have any choice," I cried,  
unconvincing to even my ears, and before he responded to my objection, I knew  
what he was going to say. I didn't want to hear it, but it was already  
ringing in my ears. I had to listen, I had no choice. Not that it mattered.   
My heart was already telling me.  
  
The old man closed his eyes as if in rejuvination for a few seconds.   
"You had unfinished business here, Kyosuke. I have no way of knowing if it  
is concluded or not. I can only assume that the business has to do with your  
young woman sitting near you. You can stay here as long as you wish, after  
all you are a member of the clan. Even though it isn't our clan." He closed  
his eyes again and didn't open them the next time he spoke. "I suggest,  
Kyosuke, that you and Madoka-chan have a chat. Now, I'm going to bed. If  
you're still here when I wake, then perhaps, I can try to help... Somehow my  
instincts tell me you won't be. I certainly hope so. Goodnight, Kyosuke,  
Madoka-chan."  
  
I shook my head and headed out. 'Unfinished business,' he had said.   
I had, for the last four years, been thinking about Ayukawa in the back of my  
mind. I had changed her destiny, and so I wondered, 'what was she like? What  
had she become?' Unfinished business was dangerous when it came to crossing  
dimensions, I had read that in one of the clan books. I hadn't really though  
it. Why should I care? She's not my Ayukawa Madoka... I rolled my eyes.   
This was garbage, and I knew it. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have saved  
her, and I wouldn't have returned. What was that I was supposed to say to  
her?  
  
Ayukawa was following me, though I'm sure she had no idea where I was  
going. I hadn't really been 'going' anywhere, but had somehow made my way to  
the room I normally used on auto-pilot, which wasn't really surprising  
considering how often I had been here. "So," I said, pulling the futons out  
of the closet, "What now?"  
  
She seemed pained, but I was sure it was only because of my own  
extreme discomfort. I could go home, but only if I learned how to. I felt  
like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Odd to compare myself to an American film  
character, but it was only too apt. I had just found out I could have left  
at any time. The question then was, where did I find my ruby slippers? I  
certainly didn't see a wicked witch of the east that I could have stolen a  
pair from. I headed over to Ayukawa.  
  
I wasn't entirely certain what I was supposed to do, but talk was  
better than nothing. Maybe we could figure it out. Maybe I could still get  
home. I placed my arms around her, but it wasn't a gesture of anything more  
than sorrow. "Ayukawa, I'm sorry that I couldn't have been more help to you,  
and that I wasn't around when you needed me most. I regret that I wasn't  
there to see the change you promised me; the fullfillment of my impression  
upon you. You've always been in the back of my head. I never meant to  
abandon you, but there was no way I could have stayed. Just as there is no  
way for me to stay now. I care about you deeply, and I have from the  
beginning. You claimed to be different from Madoka, but I think we both know  
that isn't true, and that's why we're both having problems here."  
  
She turned and buried her face in my chest. "I just don't want to be  
alone. I was alone until you came. You didn't have to help me, it wasn't  
your fight. I really did only save you to annoy the cops. You were   
amusing, and that's why I saved you. Yet you saved me out of pure love. I  
wanted to feel that again. I don't want you to go, Kasuga, I'm not sure I could  
bear to see it a second time. I know I wasn't clear earlier. I just don't have  
anything to go home to. Certainly not anyone."  
  
I really didn't have anything new to say, but I tried being  
reassuring anyway. "I care about you. I influenced your life just as I  
influenced my own Madoka, but I'm only one man. I cannot stay here, but you  
will always be a part of my experiences, and I will never forget you. That   
I promise you. Besides, now you do have someone to go home to. You can stay  
with my father or my grandparents. Get to know my sisters. Fill the void   
my lack of existence has placed within the clan. You already know about the  
Power, and much more than you should. You have a place, Ayukawa Madoka.  
Mine."  
  
She pushed herself away and stared coldly at me. "That's all you  
have to say to me, Kasuga? I'm sorry, as great as your family is, they  
aren't you."  
  
I hung my head. "It's all I have to offer," I cried.  
  
"It's not good enough." The determination in the words frightened  
me.  
  
"It has to be," I mumbled. "I can do no better." I tried to make my  
gaze meet hers, but her eyes drilled deep into my soul. "Please, don't do  
this, Ayukawa." My words were anguished. I realized what she was about to  
lose in my, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I found that I  
was once again repeating myself. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay. I hope you  
can forgive me."  
  
"No."  
  
"I don't have the heart for this. Don't ask me to choose, Ayukawa.  
Please." Tears. Odd, I hadn't realized I could cry that easily. "I'm   
weak, and I've always been weak. Dammit, how can I make you understand?" The  
tears disappeared as my anger was rekindled. "How can you be so selfish?"  
Suddenly, I realized exactly why I couldn't leave. My visage hardened and I  
returned her stare. "You're holding me back."  
  
A sneer. "I changed my entire life for you, Kasuga Kyosuke. Not  
because it was the right thing to do and certainly not because I felt like  
bettering myself." She looked away. "For you."  
  
"So what you told my grandmother was a lie?"  
  
Her head whipped back to me. "Of course! I could barely admit it to  
myself, I certainly wasn't going to tell her." Ayukawa ran a hand through  
her hair and murmered, "I don't want it to be true." I simply stared at   
her, uncertain of what to say. "I wasn't always alone, Kasuga. I used to have a  
family of my own. My parents, before they made me choose between my home   
and our togetherness. My sister was around, of course, but I'm sure you realize  
we were never close, and she got married anyway." She took a deep breath.  
"So, I got used to being alone. A big, capacious house, plenty of money...  
I didn't have anyone, so I didn't feel I needed anyone." She sighed. "Then  
you came along and single handedly saved me from being raped... I was  
suddenly so dependent on you. Do you realize how that made me feel?"  
  
I made to speak, but fell silent at her glare.  
  
"Do you have any idea how much I want to hate you even though I  
can't?" I remained silent. What more could I do? "What's more, your  
appearance caused the situation in the first place! If you had left when I  
told you to... You made me need you, dammit, and then you abandoned me.  
And now, now when I'm so close to forgetting about you and moving on with my  
life, here you come again, out of nowhere to mess things up again. So, here  
you are, making me feel all those emotions again, and you're going to   
abandon me a second time. Don't you feel any responsibility as a man?"  
  
"Yes, but not for you." I let the words roll out of my mouth before  
I had even thought them. I instantly regretted them, but I knew they were  
true. Well, mostly true.  
  
"Bullshit," Ayukawa spat as she poked me with an outstretched finger.  
"I may have been niave to think I could have you, but even I'm not so stupid  
as to ignore the fact that you feel something for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't  
be 'holding' you back."  
  
I threw my arms up in defeat. "Fine, you're right, I feel for you. I  
even said I cared about you earlier. Perhaps I even love you, but that  
doesn't change a thing. I have to go back. I belong to someone else."  
  
She shook her head and sagged. Her anger had been expended, all that  
was left on her face was a tortured yet resigned expression. "Isn't there  
anything you can leave me...? At least, someway we could stay in touch...?"  
  
I sighed. That had worried me, still was there anything I could do?  
"Let me think," I said in earnest. After a while, I found myself pacing  
about the room. I wasn't really certain... Could I go back in time and   
have my duplicate stay with her? No, he'd be me, then I'd just create a bigger  
problem. Instead of just me trying to get back to Madoka, there'd have been  
two of me trying to do the same. Okay, so, time duplication was out of the  
question. Could I take her with me? No, Madoka would have a fit, and I  
wouldn't be able to spare the time for her anyway.  
  
If only there was a way to give Ayukawa a willing copy of me. No, I  
had just gone over that. Didn't I? What if... UGH! I was way out of my  
league. It's not like I could just whip up another me, but the idea   
wouldn't get out of my head. Oh, why had the Kyosuke of this universe died?   
Maybe if I brought him back to life... No, he had died when he was a newborn,   
and the clan had laws against bringing people back from the dead anyway. I  
blinked. Wait, could there be another option? I looked back at Ayukawa. I knew  
what I had to do.  
  
I dropped to my knees, knowing it would help me maintain control. I  
hadn't expended this much power since my return from the future, yet it was  
obvious this was going to take a lot out of me. I closed my eyes. I must  
have looked like I was praying. Which, in a way, I guess I was. Still, I  
imagined I looked very silly. If Ayukawa was startled, she didn't notice.  
Of course I might have been too out of it to notice. I was already deep in  
meditation, scanning for a way out.  
  
My mind pulled away from me. I was assuming I'd be able to find him.  
I mean, all I had to was scan... Whatever the hell this was. "Niche  
Universe" grandfather had called it. I was looking for a pattern very  
familiar to me. It shouldn't take too long... In fact, I had found it. I  
was narrowing my focus. Calling it toward me. It? He? Me. I fought back,  
or rather he fought back against me. He didn't want to go. Too bad. I had  
a job to do; a conscience to satisfy. His decisions after I was done were  
his own. Right now, he would follow my lead.  
  
I opened my eyes as I concentrated, a ball of blue energy forming in  
the middle of the room. It wasn't his soul. It would have been impossible  
to see that. No, this was the matter I was pulling from somewhere.  
Although I had no idea how it worked, I knew that it did. The ball pulsated  
and eventually started to stretch. Mostly lengthwise, but it was filling   
out as well. I spared a glance for Ayukawa, but it almost made me lose control,  
so I returned my full attention to it. Forcing the bonds to click. Even  
moreso, forcing him to go into it.  
  
If I was doing this right, I'd create a biological duplicate of me.  
I was hoping that by infusing his own soul, instead of creating an extension  
of mine, he would be an individual. That was the plan anyway. I  
focused more, and the blue energy was no longer a ball at all, but a   
humanoid shape. I was still being fought, but I was winning. He was strong,   
but it was all instinct; I knew control by years of practice. I tried to   
project the memories I wanted him to have, if it was possible to do. Even  
moreso, I let the bit of my mind in love with Ayukawa come out and help bolster  
my control.  
  
The world sneezed. I sagged, and in front of me stood my mirror  
image with a bemused expression on his face. He was wearing a copy of my  
usual school uniform. I didn't think I could create inanimate objects.  
Still, his expression had me worried. I frowned. It didn't look good. I'd  
probably just succeeded in creating a duplicate. At least his soul was his  
own. Perhaps that would persuade him to stay. If not... Well, I'd deal  
with that when I spoke to him. For now...  
  
"Quite a trip, that," my mirror said.  
  
Ayukawa just gaped. She wasn't known for ability to cope immediately  
with the unexpected. Still, she managed to shake it off. "Is this... I  
mean-- Is this..." She gave up.  
  
"Thank you," he said. "How can I ever repay you for... Saving a life I  
never really had?"  
  
I blinked. "You understand what happened? You're not a clone?"  
  
He shook his head. "Biologically, perhaps, but I'm more like... An  
amalgam. I'm partly you, but partly myself. I don't really understand why  
I understand. I know because you do. It's... an odd sensation. I feel   
like everything is new, and yet I already know it all." He shook his head  
bringing it back up to stare off somewhere that didn't exist in front of   
him. He drifted over to Ayukawa and smiled at her.  
  
She stared at me. I held up a hand. "If I stay, you'd always be  
sharing me with her. But him... He loves you completely, if I've done my  
job. This is his universe, rightfully. Treat him well." She nodded,   
unable to speak.  
  
"Kyosuke," I said, addressing my alternate, "you take care of her.  
I'm going to take off, but I expect you to get me some kind of message every  
so often. I know you can do it."  
  
He nodded. "You needn't have even asked."  
  
"Oh, and one more thing," I said as I felt the tugging of a teleport.  
I knew, and I was coming, but I had to do this. My soul required it.  
  
"Tell our father you love him. In person."  
  
He smiled. "Of course, and I do love him... and I love her." He  
pulled Ayukawa close. She seemed confused, but didn't resist. "Now, get  
home. It's been taken care of. You're absolved."  
  
As soon as he had finished his heartfelt words, I felt the world  
shift around me, and I was falling through a kaleidoscope of colors. I had  
done this one before, and I would do it once more before my present. I had  
done whatever I needed to do. Finished my 'unfinished business.' I was on   
my way home. Yet it seemed like I was falling forever. At some point, when I  
had completely lost track of time, the colors started joining together  
forming a bright white light. If I could have blinked, I would have.  
Not that it would have mattered. When the light subsided, and my vision  
turned sharp, I saw four distinct walls around me.  
  
I had been here before, or some place like it. I moved my head. It  
was hard to move, but I saw enough of my surroundings to quickly come to a  
conclusion about where I was located. I was in a hospital. Not all that  
different from the one I had been in mere weeks before for another trip I  
never intended to take. This was starting to become very annoying.  
Eventually something else came into focus: the most beautiful woman I had  
ever seen. She was resting in the corner of the room. I tried to get up,   
go to her, but I couldn't; I was attached with too many wires, some kind of   
mask over my face. I tore it, managed to get it off. A warning alarm went off.  
I ignored it. She woke up and stared.  
  
"Kyosuke!" She rushed over, just as a nurse fled into the room and  
stepped in front of her.  
  
"No," the nurse insisted, "absolutely not. I must check on him  
first. I can't have you bothering him if he's just come out of a coma."  
She then turned to me. Oh, I'm still not sure she saw, but I hoped that she  
read the burning in my eyes. The audacity was enough to make the blood boil  
in my veins and I could feel the Power just egging me to action. I could   
not abide this, I would set her straight right that instant.  
  
"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but if you EVER talk to her that  
way again, I will personally rip out these tubes, remove you from the room,  
and go about my business. As for now, I have been through some of the most  
horrid days of my life, and I'd like to talk to the woman that I love   
without interruption. So, I suggest. You. Move. Now."  
  
She seemed aghast by my temper, and she rambled a rebuttal, "But,  
sir, you've been out for days, and I just can't-"  
  
"Now," I repeated. In fact, I stabbed at the door, in indication I  
wanted her more than to move. I wanted her out. Gone. I would not have my  
reunion busted up by some overprotective med tech. I waited until she got  
the message and quickly exited the room. When she did, I turned back to  
Madoka. "Help me up. I need to hold you in my arms, and I'm not sure I'm  
ever going to let go."  
  
She grabbed me, almost pulling me straight out of the bed and into an  
embrace. "Oh, Kyosuke, do you have to do this? Please don't ever lose your  
soul again. It was crazy enough the first time," she cried, the floodgates  
opening, and tears quickly showering my medical gown. "I was so worried   
when you got hit by the car, and we had to get you back from the future. Now and  
you go and lose your soul again. Where did you go? How did you get back?  
It's been nearly a week, and Grandfather could do nothing..." She buried  
herself in my chest in an action that seemed so much like deja vu. "He said  
it was all your fault, that you had chosen to go, but he didn't know   
anything more than that... Why do you have to have the Power? Can't you turn it  
off?"  
  
I didn't answer her. I just kissed her. I kissed her for a long,  
long time. I didn't stop until my family arrived, having gotten a call from  
the hospital that I was not only awake and cognitive, but up, about, and  
abusing the nursing staff. Once again there were hugs all around. I had a  
new-found appreciation for my family. My family. A family Madoka was a   
part of, and would always be a part of. I even looked forward to helping get  
everyone settled in the new house that Madoka had helped provide. And I  
would take a step forward in our relationship.  
  
"Madoka, can I move in with you? It's not like I haven't already."  
  
Madoka looked at me through her still wet eyes as I finished  
buttoning my shirt, as I awaited the paperwork that would discharge me from  
the hospital. "Of course," Madoka said through her choked voice, "God, I am  
so glad you're back." She collapsed onto me, and I held her tightly. There  
was only one thing left for me to do before Madoka and I left. Something I  
had promised someone very, very important to me.  
  
"Hey, Dad," I said, pulling him out of some debate with my sisters.  
  
"Yes, Kyosuke?" he answered, curious, but immediately tuned in to  
whatever I had to say.  
  
"You've always been supportive, appreciative, and loving... I love  
you, and I always will." I left him stunned, but warmed. Madoka and I  
received my papers and walked out of the hospital into the sunny afternoon  
that awaited us. 


End file.
